REVIEW: IDLES show a more introspective side on ‘Crawler’

Idles, Idles Crawler

IDLES are back with their fourth studio album, Crawler, a grating and explosive collection of rock from the Bristol rockers who have continued to make waves internationally since their 2017 debut. Previous project Ultra Mono, released just 14 months ago, hit No. 1 in the U.K. and charted in the U.S.

Crawler
IDLES
Partisan, Nov. 12
7/10

On the new album, the group employs harsh guitars across nearly all tracks, also featuring brutally raw vocal work from frontman Joe Talbot. At certain times it begins to sound loud and chaotic, though the group remembers to pare back and give listeners a bit of a reprieve.

Crawler serves as a therapeutic examination of addiction and recovery, change and growth for IDLES, heard right off the bat on the opening track. Named after the “MTT 420 RR” motorcycle that nearly killed Talbot, the song is about a cold February and paints images of raining glass or the scent of heaven on the dashboard as the crash ensues. Over five and a half minutes, the track builds before reaching a squeaky crescendo as Talbot asks, “Are you ready for the storm?” We then plunge into the rest of the album’s drama.



On “Car Crash,” Talbot recounts his near-fatal accident again, singing of flashes, chin to the tarmac and noticing how “everything is turning to black ash.” The song is composed and told as two long verses, spaced out by a simple chorus, “Smash/ I’m a car crash.” The verses sound like cars spinning and the chaotic string of thoughts running through Talbot’s mind while the chorus is the grave moment of impact.

Talbot shows off his most impressive, growling belting on reflective lead single “The Beachland Ballroom.” Named after the Cleveland concert hall, it begins with melodic guitar playing before Talbot begins a story about what it was like to have once been a small band that has now had enough success to play recognized venues around the world. “They could hear me scream for miles/ The silence ringing for days,” he sings in the opening lines, his voice hitting hard, like it will actually run through your body.



“Meds” hits on the addiction and recovery theme, featuring a long and twisting guitar riff as Talbot sings of various situations that prompt therapeutic interventions. The band seek out medication and mediation for everything from declined credit cards to drug use that causes the band to lose the few things it’s found.

On “Progress,” IDLES slow things down once again, opting for an ambient fingerpicked opening as they search for a place to come home to. It changes gears halfway through as the amps are kicked and the singing comes through more clear and distinct.

The album features two interludes that both run exactly 30 seconds but play as opposites of one another. The first, “Kelechi,” is probably the album’s tamest track, which swirls around in quiet ambient noise. The second, “Wizz,” begins with the quick clicking of drumsticks before exploding into a brief fit of almost unintelligible screaming and dissolving into penultimate track “King Snake.” Here, the band sings of a man who’s failed at achieving all he sees manhood to represent, instead finding himself suspended in a fog of unemployment and mediocrity.

You may find the belting and guitar grinding to be chaotic at first. But give it a thorough listen, and when the moments of quiet introspection come, so does the nuance.



Follow Domenic Strazzabosco at Twitter.com/domenicstrazz and Instagram.com/domenicstrazz

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