Crawler - IDLES: Review
IDLES
are a British punk and post-punk band who spent the back half of the 2010's establishing themselves as one of the hardest hitters in the genre. The combination of their pounding percussion, fist pumping riffs, arena chanting refrains and frontman Joe Talbot's gnarly singing vocals they created a blend of chugging politically charged punk rock all their own. They leaned into this heavily on their third album last years Ultra Mono which was the simplest and most commercial IDLES project to date.
Review By Lav:
I love this band. From the first time I heard Joe's snarling vitriol on Stendhal Syndrome I was hooked and they expanded their themes and sound even further on their excellent sophomore record. On top of this I saw the band live recently and they absolutely killed, even if my shoes got pretty roughed up by the experience. While I was one of those people who wasn't crazy about the bands third album I still think it had it's highlights from a songwriting standpoint and I think there's potential in them leaning into some of the more populous elements of their sound. On Crawler they do the exact opposite and expand their sound into more classic post-punk territory while trading out some of their catchier chanted hooks for a more intimate and self-reflective approach.
Lets get one thing out of the way first, if you're a fan of Idles signature sound there are definitely some songs on here for you, they really do this stuff well. When The Lights Come On doesn't necessarily see them going the loudest or hardest they've ever gone before but it still has that punchy instrumental and those commanding refrains you expect from the bands music. The New Sensation is one of a number of lyrical highlights on the project that attacks British politicians and institutions that failed to help people during the pandemic. It revitalizes the very specific and hilarious brand of political fury that the band worked to make their name on years ago but with a simpler instrumental palette and repetitive hook that is more reminiscent of Ultra Mono's most crowd friendly moments.
The records final few songs are where they dive the furthest into their history starting with the 30 second Wizz interlude and the track King Snake. The song kicks it all the way back to the bands debut album and early EPs with the chugging riffs and wandering repetitive vocal refrains. And I mean all of that in a good way aside from the lack of catchy refrains that plagues the entire album I still really enjoy the song. The End is a great closer to the record and has become one of my favorite songs here on repeat listens. The instrumental is a rambunctious eruption of sounds but the track works as a genuine wail of positivity that makes use of the bands enthusiasm to craft a fitting finale. Given how much the album dives into things like political turmoil and the desperation of drug addiction this is a closer that makes it all feel worth powering through.
The pair of singles released in the lead up to Crawler made it clear that this wasn't going to be you're every day Idles project. Car Crash came second but it's slightly more familiar and it knocked me on my ass when I first heard it as a single. The banging percussion and shrill wiry guitar slides are a grating sound pairing that I thoroughly enjoy. The song lulls you in at just the right moment for an absolutely thrashing finale and I haven't been able to get enough of it. The Beachland Ballroom was the lead single and the song that made me thing the band was about to drop their Tranquility Base. Even if I expressed some hesitation early on I do enjoy the track and I think it's the great progression that really drives it home. By the second half of the track Joe Talbot is just screaming out harrowingly into the void and I'm all in on the song.
The last few highlights on the record certainly have quality performances all around, but it's really the compelling lyrical themes that drive them home as memorable moments. Crawl! uses the thematic device of being a "crawler" to represent the sleazy parts in all of us and in Joe's case it's his struggles with addiction. It reminds me a lot of the Viagra Boys song Creatures and while it certainly isn't packed with catchy refrains it does clearly put a lot of care into the ideas it's built on. Meds may be even better and it's one of the records percussion highlights which of course means I love it. Not only are the drums awesome but the song itself is one of the wildest instrumentals I've ever heard on an Idles song as the band feels free to wander over the tight core drum loop. Joe's lyrics are about the cycle of recovery through the use of prescription drugs, it's very St Vincent's Pills meets a jammy style of punk rock and I'm all over it.
So I've brought up a few times one of my issues with the record being a lack of catchy refrains. Not every miss on the album is because of a wild experiment that doesn't work out, some of these songs just lack the memorable moments of previous Idles records. The Wheel employs a much more obvious lyrics metaphor in reference to the title wheel and how it well, turns. It's also some of the weirdest singing I've ever heard from Joe on the hook where he ditches his trademark snarl to impersonate some kind of arena rock star trying to get a lame chant going. The hook doesn't really stick the landing and I'm left mostly confused. Stockholm Syndrome feels like an Idles song if you programmed a computer to make one. Maybe it's slightly more reserved than their typical approach but none of the refrains really stick with me and the instrumental is really the only reason to listen.
The opening track MTT 420 RR doesn't quite work but I do get what they were going for. Joe compares a motorcycle crash that nearly killed someone to his own survival through years of addiction. It plods through a five and a half minute runtime and really takes it's time to soak in it's own depravity. Aside from being a little bit long for my taste it also ends on a really anti-climactic note that's clearly on purpose but transitions into the next song in an extremely weird way. Progress is definitely the experiment that goes over the worst which is unfortunate because it really does live up to it's title with lyrical moments that project true positive progress for the records vices. The song itself however does very little for me and while I love the true classic post-punk sound I'm not crazy about Idles take on it here. The track just feels so muddy and uninteresting in the greater view of the record and the bands discography.
It's hard to see where Crawler will live within the greater Idles discography a decade from now. Obviously I can't confirm this but I think the band heard some of the criticism of their last record and tried to broaden their horizons enough to please a critic here and there. Even though the results are inconsistent I think their ambitions worked out in the end. This record is their most versatile yet in terms of sonic experience and manages to provided both familiar renditions of their sound and some eclectic reimagining of their style. Beyond a song or two that have stylistic speedbumps the biggest issue I have with the album is that I just don't find it to be nearly as hooky or compositionally memorable as their best work. Despite the complaints they remain a strikingly unique act and a must hear band for experimental rock fans. 7/10
This cover is great. It's so clean and the colors work so effectively to set the mood. The contrast of the warm and cool colors draw you eye into the piece and make it feel comfortable and relatable and the addition of the subject to the right moves your eye through the entire piece and creates a cool and surreal concept. The text on the bottom is small, minimal and effectively compliments the entirety of the piece. I love the contrasting feel from the sound of their music. 9.5/10
For more hard rocking check out my review of Parquet Courts Sympathy For Life here
