IDLES release “Crawler” this Friday
IDLES latest album “Crawler” is out this Friday (12th November 2021) on Partisan Records, the bands fourth album in as many years and the follow-up to their first No. 1, 2020’s Ultra Mono. IDLES are Joe Talbot (Vocals), Mark Bowen (Guitar & Keyboards), Lee Kiernan (Guitars) Adam ‘Dev’ Devonshire (Bass) and Jon Beavis (Drums). The 14-track project was recorded at the famed Real World Studios in Bath during the COVID-19 pandemic and co-produced by Kenny Beats (Vince Staples, Slowthai, Freddie Gibbs) and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen.
Vocalist Joe Talbot says, “We want people who’ve gone through trauma, heartbreak, and loss to feel like they’re not alone. This album shows the ugly side of where those things come from, but also how it is possible to reclaim joy from those experiences.” He adds, “Before his assassination, Trotsky knew that Stalin's men were coming over to kill him. He knew he was going to die. What did he do? After watching his wife out in the garden, he wrote in his diary, ‘in spite of it all, life is beautiful.’ A week later, he gets an icepick in the head. He was just happy to sit in his garden watching the person he loved most do what she loved. I think that’s a beautiful thing.”
For Joe, “‘Crawler’ is like the character of me in the dark warmth of my addiction — a crawler, a night crawler, someone on their knees, someone praying, someone surviving. The grit of it. The weight of the world on you. All of those things is a ‘crawler.’”
So the aim of “Crawler” is to bring to life vivid stories of trauma, addiction and recovery with maybe a new direction and their most soul-stirring music to date.
The album starts off with MTT 420 RR and wow, what an opening track. It’s slow, low key and with a dark heavy tone. Named after the motorbike, a deeply personal track for Joe recounting his own experiences when late one night from the driver’s seat of his car, he watched a motorcyclist race past him on the highway at nearly 130 miles an hour. The rider was inches away from crashing into his car. In that moment, with the fragility of life and death so blatantly on display, Joe began to reflect on his own trajectory and chronicle the formative moments therein, both literally and metaphorically. “I’ve been a car crash.” he says. “Being an addict is part and parcel of who I was for years and years. Watching that motorcyclist felt like the start of a new story -- reflecting on addiction in a forgiving, empathetic and sympathetic way. Allowing yourself the room to breathe and forgive, but also taking responsibility for your actions.”
We’re so used to IDLES being loud and brash, in your face, that this kind of takes your breath away, and draws you in…. makes you listen intensely. It sets the scene brilliantly the darkest of dark places with its slow-burn intensity. I loved the use of bells in the rhythm, and the track almost had the pulsing feel of a heart monitor to it, for me emphasizing the dark overtones to the track. I also loved the more obvious use of synth sounds. Their innovative use of guitar effects to create incredibly complex sounding themes and tones, which are yet musically simple is a staple of their style, and the use of synth tones, and their manipulation is a natural fit with this, and in my eyes, a welcome one, giving some of the tracks an even greater depth of sonic complexity and level of tonal interest.
Next up, we dive into more traditional IDLES style with The Wheel. Heavy bass from Dev and Jon’s pounding, intense drum tracks underpinning the sound here. The Wheel for me goes back to their roots on “Brutalism” but has an almost glam rock feel to it. The bass in particular is stunning, loud, ear pounding single notes in the middle of the track driving it along. Simple but so brilliant. Joe’s lyrics are intense and delivered with angry passion as always.
The pace changes again with the next track When the Lights Come On. Slower, and infectious in its style it starts with simple bass and cymbal beats before the guitar work from Lee & Bowen come to the fore, creating a soundscape of tones that drift underneath Joe’s vocals that describe the desire, the drive to keep the party going one night, which can lead to trouble “It’s 3am I wanna dance ‘til the sun comes… I wanna fight your cousin.”
We mix it up again as we hit the next track Car Crash head on. The intro made me think of something akin to Aphex Twin, before the megaphone vocals join. Again, Dev’s bass plays a central role in this track. There was something about Car Crash with the megaphone tone vocals that reminded me of Henry Rollins at times. Vocally it builds and builds until it ‘crashes’ settling back down, to rise again. I LOVE Car Crash its powerful, almost visceral in its intensity. It’s unrelenting driving at you from start to finish. Two thirds through it theres an almost like dream section, as Joe’s vocals taken on an almost ‘angelic’ quality and we have a delightful crisp, clear picked guitar section, before once again the ferocity and power of the theme descends on us again, before it fades off into feedback.
The New Sensation again returns us to more familiar IDLES ground but with a new pulverizing bass-and-drum twist to it. This one I’m sure would be a favourite live as Joe tells the listener to “Everyone stand up for a bit, get up on your feet and get down for a bit ….. like you don’t give a shit”. Powerful guitar sections give way to allow the vocals to take the forefront. It showcases their cheeky use cliches with references to Richard Pryor (check our Mr. Motivator from Ultra Mono!). This one is punk to its core a great track.
A fantastic introduction to this one with Dev’s bass powering out a repetitive tone as Jon’s drumming arrives to powerfully back it up. I thought for a moment it was something from Audioslave ! Stockholm Syndrome really showcases the power and anger of Joe’s vocals as he spits out the lines ferociously.
As we reach the middle of the album, we are presented with The Beachland Ballroom and what Joe describes as the most important song on the album, a sort of allegory of feeling lost and getting through it, and WOW, what an incredible track it is. Named after the iconic Ohio venue, Bowen starting us off at the keyboards, it has a totally different feel to it, indeed swirling around, as if on a ballroom dancefloor. Joe’s vocals are more calm and subtle, backed by an organ tone setting the scene so well. As close to a ballad as IDLES will get, it really draws you in. Then it almost comes to a standstill as Joe croons “I’m not praying babe; I’m not begging darling” and then the track explodes. Bowen back on guitar the intensity level ratchets up 10 but still with that slower core to it. It’s simply sensational as it suddenly ends and fades away.
Wow, I need a break after that, but there’s no rest for the wicked reviewer here as Crawl! Powers out of the speakers at me. Back to familiar punk styling with short lyrics thrown out at you. A full-on sound here with guitars bass and drums all building together into a wall of sound.
Meds comes next focusing on medication as a solution and the issues therein as Joe reflects “Just lost what I just I had found, burnt friendships to the ground turned my frown upside down… and medicate, meditate, medicate”. This one adds a fantastic dysfunctional sax section in the middle that fits the mood here perfectly.
We have a welcome change of pace again with Kelechi which is more of a tonal interlude than a song but is a welcome moment to pause and reflect on the experience. This reflective moment continues with the acoustic guitar and effects laden intro to Progress with softer layered vocals with echo effects, it creates a wonderful dream sense in the midst of the sonic turmoil that is “Crawler” with it’s somewhat agitated sharpness. Progress deals with the struggle with addiction which plays out in the lyrics “As heavy as my bones were, I don’t wanna feel myself get high. As good as your grace was, I don’t wanna feel myself come down.”
Jon’s tempo setting drumsticks wake us up with a start for the arrival of Wizz. A short, sharp track that just explodes out at me, disrupting the silence like a knife carving through my ears into my soul. It sits somewhere between old-school hardcore punk and death metal. It’s intense, brief and angry.
Things settle back into IDLES territory with King Snake. Again, another classic IDLES soundscape here, with Joe’s storytelling the main focus.
Finally, we come to The End and another powerful, intense affair, with powerful guitars and bass with Joe’s vocals delivered against a death metal style vocal backing with intense lines such as “Cuts like a knife, kicks like a mule”. I don’t think there’s another band, or vocalist that can scream the line “Despite it all, Life is beautiful” (the Leon Trotsky quote mentioned earlier) so brutally and yet sound so genuine in its intent.
In the press briefing that comes with the review materials, Joe Talbot is quoted as saying that “This whole album, I tried to be more of a storyteller than I’ve ever been before, and more poetic, which I think is more honest, in an ironic way, than trying to be as blunt and down the line as possible.”
So….. what do we think about it? Does the album deliver? I think it’s an IDLES album that will split reviewer opinion. For me, my favourite IDLES is still “Brutalism”. Sonically, ‘Crawler’ sees IDLES at their most daring and ambitious., and as a whole album everything gels together perfectly. This one, takes a large step out of their comfort zone, and brings in a whole load of new flavours. I think Joe’s observation about being more poetic, and more of a storyteller works exceptionally well, and for me, the new elements really add to the IDLES experience. Highlights for me are Car Crash, the sombre and reflective MTT 450 RR¸the beauty of Beachland Ballroom, and my personal highlight the brilliant Kelechi sonic moment and intense follow up with Wizz.
This may just be my new favourite IDLES album. I love it. Not perfect, but pretty much there and worthy of a 9.5 from LiveWire Music. I’m really looking forward to some of this new material live!!!
