Playlist here of the album, with one of the top tracks on video below.
My thoughts on …….. TANGK
If your exposure to the IDLES started and ended with their debut album Brutalism in 2017, you may be surprised with the change in musical direction as expressed in their latest vinyl offering TANGK. A bit less growling, a bit more melody, a fair bit of production.
The IDLES haven’t had their critics to seek over the past few years as they received more than a few barbs about the sincerity of their political stances and social viewpoints.
Personally, it’s never been an issue with me. You either like the music for what it is or you don’t. For anyone finding the IDLES for the first time via TANGK there’s every chance they’ll be quietly pleased with the diversity across the 11 songs available here.
While there’s a lot to be said about the punk attitude displayed by many bands as they start out and verbally dismantle the inequalities around them, where’s the progression? Where’s the diversity? How do you shake off the one trick pony label?
In the case of TANGK, the IDLES have moved away from their comfort zone. They’ve put down an album of different textures that still leave their punkish mark on the listener.
Like all forms of artistic culture, paintings, books, music, dance, etc., beauty is in the eye of the beholder. For these two eyes, and ears of course!, I think the album stands up well to anything they have produced before.
As we head to Berlin to see them live, the setlist of recent gigs suggests that they are blending the old with the new. Will their fanbase be as equally accepting with the new directions? I hope so
Watch this space!
All comments welcome so that we can improve what we are publishing!