IDLES

Crawler (Partisan)

Idles are back with new album Crawler, only a year after 2020’s Ultra Mono. Its opening track, MTT 420 RR is an interesting opener that builds and builds… but doesn’t exactly go. Instead, it punches straight into The Wheel, a high energy, typically stompy Idles song which I’m sure will go down well when played live on their UK tour next year. Car Crash features heavy vocal styling and is noisy, violent, and very, very cool.

The rest of Crawler follows suit, with the exception of subtle grower Beachland Ballroom – in which vocalist Joe Talbot actually croons, something I didn’t think was possible. An interlude precedes Progress, where again Idles try something new. Overall, I think longstanding fans will be satisfied and hopefully hungry for more: Crawler finds this Bristol band sticking to what they do best whilst still keeping things fresh and topical.

words SARAH BOWDIDGE