“Review of the album Tangk by Idles, which celebrates finding joy as a form of resistance.” “An evaluation of Idles’ album Tangk, highlighting the concept of finding joy as a means of resistance.”

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The announcement for Idles’ fifth album is simple and direct. Frontman Joe Talbot shared on social media that it will be an album filled with beauty and power, consisting entirely of love songs. While some may question the necessity of this announcement, it’s not uncommon for rock and pop musicians to write love songs.

However, it is important to consider the context in which this statement is made. This particular statement pertains to the band known as Idles, who have gained recognition for their songs such as “I’m Scum,” “Rottweiler,” “White Privilege,” and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm.” One of their notable characteristics is their guitarist, who often performs on stage wearing only a pair of Y-fronts. The band rose to fame with their debut album Brutalism, which consists of a 41-minute long expression of grief and confusion over the death of Talbot’s mother, as well as anger towards the state of the UK. This album was released in 2017, a year marked by significant events such as Brexit, the Grenfell Tower fire, and the Manchester Arena bombing. In addition, the Red Cross had also described the state of Britain’s hospitals as a “humanitarian crisis.” Given this context, it is not surprising that Idles would not be expected to release an album filled with love songs. However, they did release an album titled Tangk, which attempted to convey the impact of their music through onomatopoeia.

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Despite previous expectations, we find ourselves listening to sincere songs with titles like Gratitude and Grace, celebrating parenthood, new love, and the pleasure found in others’ successes. These songs also touch on strong brotherly bonds, likened to the joyful sound of Hall & Oates playing in one’s heart. Grace and A Gospel are both unexpectedly beautiful songs, with the former featuring a lovely melody sung in a vulnerable tone by Talbot, and the latter incorporating a persistent piano line, soft vocals, and string samples. Talbot even sings “Joy on joy, cheerleader, happy boy” on Pop Pop Pop, a line that would have once been considered out of character for him without a hint of sarcasm, just like the lyrics of Rule Britannia.

In reality, there has always been a sentimental aspect to them – Brutalism’s successor was Joy As An Act of Resistance – but a change began after the success of 2020’s top-charting album, Ultra Mono. This album pushed Idles’ original approach to its limits: everything turned up to the max, the desire to create a sense of cathartic communal anger crossing the line into oversimplified and inflammatory rhetoric (after much controversy online, the band no longer performs their single Model Village, considering its portrayal of small-town life to be too broad and patronizing). Whether at the top of the charts or not, it seemed like the band was on the brink of self-destruction or descending into self-parody. However, they dialed back the intensity on 2021’s Crawler, a complex and introspective outpouring of musical ideas that spanned from soul to ambient electronics.

However, Tangk is a more powerful album than its previous one, successfully making an even more drastic change in mood – Crawler focused on self-destructive portrayals of Talbot’s battles with addiction – while still maintaining Idles’ raw energy. It is filled with clever and fascinating concepts: Roy’s chaotic and clattering interpretation of a soul ballad; the eerie buzzing and feedback sounds that flow through Pop Pop Pop; the collaboration with LCD Soundsystem on Dancer, which manages to be both agile and heavy in its post-punk funk sound; and the subtle hint of Julee Cruise’s moody 1990 hit Falling that lingers in the final track, Monolith.

There are many clever and captivating ideas presented, but surprisingly, the least effective tracks are the ones that closely resemble Idles’ previous sound. Although the sentiment in “Hall & Oates” is charming, the garage-rock accompaniment is predictable and the lyrics are overly obvious: “Word to your mother: I truly adore my brother.” Talbot’s talent shines in his ability to subtly incorporate a pro-republican message in “Gift Horse,” a song seemingly about his daughter – “Screw the king! She’s the ruler” – or in capturing the anticipation of a potential romance becoming reality in “Dancer” – “Our hands brush…my breath moves your hair…I can taste the excitement in my mouth.”

It should not come as a surprise that a band who has proven their talent in one area also excels in other areas. However, Tangk is a pleasantly unexpected album, which may say something about the limited expectations set by the music industry’s focus on curated playlists and algorithms that predict and cater to your preferences. It could also speak to the underestimation of Idles themselves, who have always been at risk of either collapsing under the weight of their own contradictions or evolving. Creating powerful, aggressive music about “impotent male rage”, as described by Talbot, is a delicate balancing act that is prone to criticism and misunderstanding. While not every track on Tangk is a hit, the majority of them succeed with an urgency that conveys a message of positivity, making it worth celebrating.

Reworded: The song “Floating On a Moment” is performed by Beth Gibbons.

The announcement of a new solo album from the lead singer of Portishead comes as a surprise, especially considering it has been 11 years since she first mentioned it. However, it is a welcome surprise, especially given the exquisite beauty of her previous release, “Floating On a Moment.”

Source: theguardian.com