IDLES – “CRAWLER” Album Review

The fourth studio release sees IDLES in a brand new texture – with all the colours we’ve come to love already.

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With a striving lunge forward, CRAWLER strives for a stronger indulgence of reflection. It hones in on a more inclusive approach to delivering songs with moments of interlacing beauty and anger within one another.

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IDLES have never been one to take a step back and reflect on their angsty actions – especially from that of an idled punk band. But ever since frontman Talbot left therapy, he realised he was angry at all the wrong people. Since then, he has been able to create more thought-provoking dramatic ballads that certainly have more depth and feel to them. Forerunner pre-single, The Beachland Ballroom is a prime example of this. Understanding where they are as a band – rather than running through the motions and living in it – they’ve been able to create an album with vivid stories, wild imagination and a sense of escapism into their ever-fixing worlds.

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“It was writing selflessly that helped make it possible. Reflecting. Telling my own story. Not trying to tell everyone else’s story. Not trying to fix the world – just talking about how I am fixing mine.” -Joe Talbot

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Although not featuring the usual raucous rock anthems that shake the walls like we saw in Ultra Mono, it is a refreshing texture to a band that seemed far too brazen-faced to change. It puts the band in a better – and far stronger – place as a sharply-dressed outfit in the world of punk rock music.

You can catch IDLES perform their fourth album works as they strive for a mega UK/Ireland tour in January 2022.