One of the most powerful units in the rock barracks emerge triumphant with their fifth, as Bristolian post-punks strike a chord with more sentiment than ever before.
OVERVIEW
Following up Grammy-nominated CRAWLER was by no means going to be an easy feat. After all, the incessant tour schedule and 3-year pause is a certainly reflection of that. Stellar in both angsty pizzazz and beautiful vibrancy, it shook punk rock’s foundations with electric The Wheel teeing off with swooning balladry of The Beachland Ballroom.
With a string of unnerving records squaring off to the broken world, looking for love outwardly – all the while battling through personal trauma of their own – the British band have arrived at this new fifth act with something new entirely. At its core, TANGK – pronounced “tank” with a whiff of the “g” and their own onomatopoeic reference to the lashing way the band imagined the guitars sounding – is an album all about gratitude, power and love as Talbot’s resounding lyrics show a sign of seeking love from within.
SONG-TO-SONG
In short, TANGK is a focused mood with braised arrangements and strong spirit. The album starts off with Idea 01 which does not exert any trace of harshness which the album name suggests. Instead, it’s an hypnotic opener blazoned with twinkling piano loops and dampening drums that could be seen more in Thom Yorke’s wardrobe. Which makes sense since the very producer behind this album, is also the master-at-work behind Radiohead’s most authentic outfits put on record. While Idea 01 is the sedative; Gift Horse is very much the adrenaline needle. A swathing wall of guitar clangs meets bombastic drums in a galloping majesty that only the most primmed at dressage would gleam at. We’re darted back to another immersive soundscape of off-kilter synth warbles and dissonant lyricism from Talbot on POP POP POP; an all-too familiar impasse of jarring noises – but no real substance offered here.
IDLES’ pensive trademarks land right on the money however, with follow-up Roy – an outrageous stand-out amongst the lot. A gravitas of everything we’ve come to expect throughout IDLES tenure of creating tense arrangement with explosive finales, Roy will set you right.
A Gospel is another lucrative soundscape of frolicking in the rose buds – a testament to the outpouring of love – as we’re treated to sombre piano motifs and poignant strings. It breaks away from the usual hard grit intonation that we’re familiar with like on Joy... The bands’ most emphatic moment comes at cathartic energiser Dancer, featuring LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang. An emphatic bass thread weaves in-between Talbot’s most confident vocals, “I can taste the mood in my mouth / Like particles of punch drunk love / And the sweat,” as a jarring celebration befitting to those who dance; are those most in love.
Grace is also a swathing remark to the aching spirit of love as Talbot swoons between a boomy lullaby, “No god / No king / I sad love is the fing / No crown / No ring / I said love is the fing.” It’s a hauntingly beautiful take and sums up what TANGK is all about. From the groove of Grace, we’re thrown into Hall & Oates – a flat-out four-to-the-floor punk piece in the traditional sense to keep the Brutalism-hype boys happy. Gratitude is another stirring sigil to love as Joe hat-tips his two cents’ worth – “that gratitude / Cuts through my veins / I hold my hand up.” Monolith is certainly an unusual one. A booming drone litters the full track sidled with what sounds like a car indicator before we have a somewhat unsolicited sax outro rounding off a wildly imaginative record.
It’s an album that has a few home runs in terms of catchy hooks and quirky guitar sounds, but is albeit let down somewhat by the slower songs that demand less attention to detail. Still equally impressive in terms of IDLES standards which, aren’t exactly lacklustre.
TANGK is out this Friday.
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