Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance

Idles
Joy as an Act of Resistance
2018
Spotify

I feel like I've said this a hell of a lot this year but this new sophomore record from Idles truly reflects the world around them. UK punk outfit get into the pain of constant loss, the justification of addiction and the general sense that everything around us is pretty fucked up. That's always been the refrain of punk rock though so it's not altogether new, It's just that Idles play their music with so much passion that you almost have to buy in. It's kind of like Future Islands, even if the song isn't the best Sam Herring's emotion gives the song a huge lift. "Colossus" is such a statement of purpose as the song slowly burns with pent up rage, then absolutely explodes into a jam that might even get this old man back in the pit. "Concrete and Leather!" is the refrain of "Never Fight A Man With A Perm" a song that feels like both of things. The hollow bass guitar strums away filling the album with this hazy muck of a low end that is crazy infectious. "Love Snog" which opens with Joe Talbot's, the bands singer, talking about being vulnerable and wanting to accept what he calls "modern love". The thing I really love about this song is how instead of a sweet sounding song it is one of the most aggressive on the album. He wants love, and a really beautiful love at that, but at his core this is his music and this is how He is going to get his message to his would be wife.

The one thing about this record is that for a punk album it is incredibly long. The songs are pretty normal lengths besides those stretching out past five minutes, but for a punk record they are pretty long. Sometimes the band can get in a groove and stay there, something that is not a hallmark of punk and it makes the song feel like it's somehow dragging. These should be quick punches but Talbot has a lot more to say than that. Throughout the album there are so many "woke" moments like when the band asks you to "love yourself" instead of sitting and watching TV on "Television". They have this sense of aggressive social justice, but it never explodes into a sense of violence like so many other punk outfits tend to sound like. Idles make it a point that they aren't you're typical punk rock band, but not in a heavy handed way, they manage to somehow balance it all out. Joy as an Act of Resistance is a really fun record and one that carries some real weight. Don't sleep, but you probably won't be able to when you put this on.

7.9 out of 10