Album Review: Idles, Joy As An Act of Resistance

Building on the momentum created by last year’s Brutalism, the welcome return of Bristol’s IDLES sees them in spare yet uncompromising form, as they vent the sort of righteous spleen rarely heard these days. Joy As An Act Of Resistance deals with themes of toxic male gender stereotypes, vulnerability, inebriation, class inequality, malign nationalism and self-acceptance. Produced by Space and mixed by Adam Greenspan and Nick Launay, its tender-sweet brutality maintains a consistent conviction.

It’s difficult to pick a standout track on a standout album. Perhaps it’s in the barely articulable sentiments of ‘June’, a lament for a stillborn child. It’s hard to think of a sadder line than “Baby shoes for sale, never worn.” ‘Love Song’ sounds nothing like one, but who am I to argue? Then there’s the gloriously rambunctious call for tolerance and unity that is ‘Danny Nedelko’. Or how about some sage advice in ‘Never Fight A Man With A Perm’?

‘Gram Rock’ takes us inside the singularly solipsistic mind of a coked-up asshole, while Solomon Burke’s tear-stained soul evergreen ‘Cry To Me’ is fed through the wood-chipper and spat out the other end. For good measure, there’s the disarmingly candid ‘I’m Scum’.

This is a record with a message, but it doesn’t deal in heavy-handed, chest-thumping sermons. Rather, IDLES are just a band with a deeply humanistic credo, expressed with a refreshingly stark lack of artifice and a contagious exuberance.

8/10