Idles don’t pull any punches.
From the relentless opening bars of War you’re parachuted straight into battle, Joe Talbot’s rallying cry leading the charge against all that’s bad in Britain and beyond. This is Idles distilled. A 12-track assault on the senses; that unmistakeable sound honed and polished, with lyrics confronting the familiar themes of isolation and disillusion.
The four tracks drip-fed since May are all here, from Mr Motivator with its cartoon surrealism: “Like Delia Smith after 10 Chardonnays baking me a nice cookie,” to Model Village’s small-town Britain: “I see a lot of gammon in the village, I don’t see a lot happen in the village.”
But beyond these are even better tracks. Kill Them With Kindness teases with a piano intro before launching in: “If you want to beat the machine, keep your teeth clean/And kill ‘em with kindness.”
Carcinogenic is a sound of a band railing against social injustice. It’s unapologetic and cements their status as one of the most important bands in the country.
