UK Band: IDLES

[dontfeartheringo]

Something about the vocals and lyrics isn’t clicking for me.

Colossus is one the best songs I've heard in years and “I am my father’s son/His shadow weighs a ton” is perfect.

The new album is a fantastic piece of work, the recording is superb.

That's a good lyric. A lot of the other stuff kinda strikes me as entry-level Wokebook 101 stuff and I'm glad that they're on the side of good and not evil but the "this snowflake is an avalanche" type stuff doesn't hit for me and the repetition of a lot of the lyrics makes it worse.

The vibe I get from the singer fellow is that he hasn't been in 80 bands before and this is his first go 'round with it. I like that about him. He's not jaded and/or too clever again by half, as they say.

Yeah, some of it is knuckleheaded oi-ish stuff, but at least it's not Skrewdriver.

I love this band, though I can't always explain why in terms that would satisfy the more cork-sniffery post-hardcore folks I know. I'm ok with that.

[DrAwkward]

Hmm. I just discovered this band about a week before Joy came out, and each listen to each album makes it grow more and more on to me. I really, really love the relentless posi energy of the new album. "Television" in particular has latched onto my cortex like a fucking Trill.

If someone talked to you
The way you do to you
I'd put their teeth through
Love yourself
And that's what they do
The bastards made you
Not want to look like you
So you pay through the nose
To look like someone else
All the weirdos on the shelf
Love yourself
Love yourself
Love yourself
I go outside and I feel free
'Cause I smash mirrors and fuck TV
I go outside and I feel free
'Cause I smash mirrors and fuck TV

Fuck, maybe that is "wokebook 101" or whatever but it's fucking desperately needed in both the UK and the States right now and i'll take it. Solid NC from me.

[Gramsci]

....

I love this band, though I can't always explain why in terms that would satisfy the more cork-sniffery post-hardcore folks I know. I'm ok with that.

Solid points. Funny, it’s the punk rock tropes that turn me off and 90s post-hardcore is/was my core guitar music go to. When I first listened to Joy I didn’t rate it until June came up. The album reminds me of TJL Down...

I think they could really go beyond... if they dropped the 70s British punk oi oi/yaddy yaddys but I think that’s not likely to happen.

[llllllllllllllllllllllll]

Joy As An Act Of Resistance is a horrible title. I roll my eyes every time I see it. What’s the next one going to be, Self-care Is Revolutionary?

[Andrew.]

Joy As An Act Of Resistance is a horrible title. I roll my eyes every time I see it. What’s the next one going to be, Self-care Is Revolutionary?

Yeah. You're not wrong. I mean I like that they're outspoken Corbyn supporters and champion the NHS, but there's still a flakiness to them which when combined with the "Oi 2.0" anthemic elements isn't quite my jam.

It'd be cool if they had politics as incisive as Gang of Four back in the day (or like Third World War for that matter — "I want a no-bullshit, working class band—I've had enough of all this pseudo peace crap.") or if the lyrics approached the unhinged, razory creativity of Mark E Smith, but those are high bars. And I still prefer "Woke 101" earnestness to many of the bro-ternatives, including the detached apoliticism of a lot of classic aluminum necked beard rock of the 90s and 00s. There was kind of a luxury of apoliticism for white-dude rock nerds for a good while, and at least these guys are trying to take up toxic masculinity in what they do. That's good. And while pushing back against anti-immigrant hysteria is a low bar in my books, it's still more than what many bands have chosen to do with their platforms. They feel some responsibility and urgency and I respect that. And I like the playing. Like the drums, like the bass, like the guitars.

[llllllllllllllllllllllll]

Yeah, that’s a good way to put it. Its a little cringey but not too bad.

[Teacher's Pet]

[Youtube]https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=948&v=5Sbbiv5iSiQ[/Youtube]

I can't be mad at these lads.

How do we get Youtube links to work again?


what the hell

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=948&v=5Sbbiv5iSiQ

[hellholiday]

I think its [youtube] [/youtube]

[n.c.]

not crap.

would the lyrics in question be out of place on a Crass record?

[Ike]

This is the best thing I've read in weeks and weeks.

https://www.nme.com/news/music/sleaford ... 46ZSAZW89s

Thanks to Fowlmouth jeff for posting this.

SICK BURN.

[cneutron]

Something about the vocals and lyrics isn’t clicking for me.

Colossus is one the best songs I've heard in years and “I am my father’s son/His shadow weighs a ton” is perfect.

The new album is a fantastic piece of work, the recording is superb.

That's a good lyric. A lot of the other stuff kinda strikes me as entry-level Wokebook 101 stuff and I'm glad that they're on the side of good and not evil but the "this snowflake is an avalanche" type stuff doesn't hit for me and the repetition of a lot of the lyrics makes it worse.

What trepidation I have on this band is entirely this. I enjoy a lot of the music, and am generally down for what they do. Some of it seems straight up exploitive to me.
Yet! Absolute nuancelessness WORKS.
People get something out of it and it brings positive feelings.
Soooo... ok, maybe i'm the problem there.

A lot of the lyrics are quite good though on both records. About 9 standout badass lines for every 10th eye roller. I'll give credit for that even when it's a Margaret Atwood or 6 word saddest short story (Baby shoes for sale, never worn).
No shame in being a cultural magpie as long as it's a steal and not a borrow.
"the best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich."
Incredible!

I like them best at their lyrically smartest, because: of course I do. If it was more that and less of "the lads" bits, i'd consider going to war for them.

the "wife fucker" song on the new record hits me exactly the same way as the gratuitous making out Al and Tipper did in 2000. Just perfomatively odd and putting a megaphone on something that's like: "ok dude, cool."

It takes me out of the new record, every single time.

Fuck, maybe that is "wokebook 101" or whatever but it's fucking desperately needed in both the UK and the States right now and i'll take it.

Totally and completely agreed.
Idles are one of the few bands that I will argue both for and against, sometimes in the same paragraph.

They absolutely destroy it live, and even if I roll my eyes a little at the specific antics of underwear guitarist (the fella with the Federation X mustache), it's a damn good show and it's easy to see why The Kids (TM) go absolutely apeshit for them. The kids don't give a rat's ass that a lot of their stuff is a straight up 2 parts mclusky and 1 part the Fall rip. They don't care if Future of the Left did it better, they are just loving every moment, shouting along with the shout along parts and having the best time.

I don't listen to Protomartyr or Sleaford Mods

I'm often baffled at the outsized, excited positive reaction to them. Pondering why them specifically, and how they got there... but hey, who cares? Let 'em have fun. I'll be down to give them a little time when it's called for.

For me they are a qualified NOT CRAP.

[cneutron]

This is the best thing I've read in weeks and weeks.

https://www.nme.com/news/music/sleaford ... 46ZSAZW89s

Thanks to Fowlmouth jeff for posting this.

SICK BURN.

Ha!
Wow, I think dude is yelling "I'm a Seaford MOD!" in one of the songs too.
That's awkward.

Kind of an on-point dis too.

[cneutron]

Idles did a Tiny Desk concert for NPR.

Underwear guitarist keeping it "tasteful" with some Ryan Werner style American Flag spandex and shirtless instead.

The songs work more stripped down and there's a new one in there too.
"Mercedes Marxist"
Still high on antics, and the singer dude's voice is still hilariously gruff.

Can't figure out how to embed that one, so go to the link if you want to see it.

[the finger genius]

I think I like them, music, singing, lyrics all are pointing in the right direction. I am struggling with a (perceived at least) dissonance between the philosophy they seem to be aiming for and the amount of Social media posts advertising Idles sweatpants or whatever.

[hellholiday]

I just don't like them. They bore me. Im tired of thinking of how a band fits into the history of shit. It's that simple.

[Antero]

Saw them perform recently. It was a lot of fun. Very earnest. Silly dance moves. Kinda basic but not crap.

[BobSimms]

Everything FM cneutron wrote above is what I hate about them, essentially.

From what I’ve listened to, they have some cool guitar noises and drum parts, a lot of the time in fact. I like the underwear dude’s mustache. Everything else about their songs—the so-called Oi 2.0 song stylings (e.g. Danny Nedelko’s chorus) and the Wokebook 101 subjects and stances—is a massive annoyance. Vomit.

[dontfeartheringo]

Well, I still love them.

Perhaps that means that I have terrible taste.

But I do like this band.

[mrcancelled]

I listened to some tracks off their newest album a while back and I couldn't understand what the fuss was, they just reminded me of the Dropkick Murphys or some shit. After seeing the tiny desk thing I re-visited them and there's definitely some stuff going on that I missed before. I certainly like their sort of more noisy/angular sounding songs over the Oi sounding songs (or parts of songs). They look like they'd be fun live.

"Mercedes Marxist" is good, been listening to that track a lot. I'll give the albums another shot.

[Ranxerox]

Enjoyed the hell out of them the other night.

Don't really listen to the recordings and don't at all care about their lyrics.

Not crap.