A Return To Brutalism?

Almost seven years removed from their debut album, British punk rockers IDLES returned this past Friday with their fifth studio album, TANGK. Featuring production from Kenny Beats and Nigel Godrich, and a lone feature from dance-punk icons LCD Soundsystem, this album sees them straying further from the raw, aggressive sound of 2017’s Brutalism, a contender for top album of the decade for me. While that in no way detracts from the quality of this new album, it does make me wonder how much more of that sound they may have had in them, nearly abandoning the sound entirely following their 2018 album Joy as an Act of Resistance.

Take for example the intro tracks. With “Idea 01,” TANGK kicks off with a very mellow and low-key track, showing heavy influence from their later-guest James Murphy. Vocalist Joe Talbot keeps things to a whisper throughout, almost trying to blend into the background and keep out of view. In contrast, the opener for Brutalism kicks off with a vocal sample of a woman screaming, and relentless pounding drums before Talbot’s rough growl takes center stage. It’s a stark contrast for sure, and while it may work for some, it lacks the edge that I had come to love from the band, not only in the volume but in the general content; while Talbot previously would scream about injustices in a pointed manner, he seems more content to keep to the shadows and whisper about the world in general, taking no names and kicking no asses. 

While Nigel Godrich may have worked wonders with Radiohead, producing each of their albums since 1997’s OK Computer, the magic isn’t working here. Streamlined and polished, TANGK comes through overproduced and sounding flat. While not without its highlights, the album doesn’t strike in the way that previous IDLES albums have. Through improvements in Talbot’s vocal performance throughout the years and a smoothening of his voice on record, the anger he was so good at evoking has yet to come through as viscerally as it has in the past. A return to Brutalism is looking further like a possibility with each release.