IDLES: 'Ultra Mono'

“For the last time, we're not a fucking punk band” scowled IDLES lead singer Joe Talbot at a 2018 gig. Saying you aren’t punk is just about the most punk thing you could say, and IDLES have proved to be one of the modern movement’s most exciting acts. Known for juxtaposing heart-on-sleeve lyrics with brutal instrumentals, IDLES’ long-awaited third studio album ‘Ultra Mono’ was released on September 25th.

There’s no messing about on ‘Ultra Mono’. The band get straight to the good stuff with opener ‘War’, an angry call to arms with a Chase and Status flair. Lyrically speaking, it’s not the most complex, but it doesn’t need to be. ‘War’ is a battle cry for the second punk revolution.

‘Model Village’, released as a single in August, is a tirade against the everyday tragedies of suburban life. The track is full force throughout, with an ‘I Fought The Law’ repetitiveness. To be honest, the best thing about ‘Model Village’ is that it’s just plain funny. IDLES have a flair for the darkly comedic, and lyrics such as ‘there’s a lot of gammon in the village’ conjure up the sickening pinks and too-bright blues of a Grayson Perry painting. The fictional village feels like a caricature of my own Cumbrian town, and young listeners throughout Britain will empathise with the symptoms of small-town syndrome. ‘Model Village’ expresses youthful frustration at not quite fitting in, but IDLES are here to give listeners an escape.

IDLES’ fearless crusade against toxic masculinity has been a much-needed breath of fresh air for blokes from fifteen to fifty. On ‘Anxiety’, they once again use their unique brand of compassionate rock to assure men it’s okay to feel. “I have got anxiety/It has got the best of me” Talbot shouts, and a big build of desperate cries surrounds the listener to sonically replicate the isolated misery of poor mental health. 

Next comes ‘Kill Them with Kindness’. A gentle piano intro is contrasted with a boot-stomping, Sex Pistols beat drop. It preaches that the best way to topple the broken system is to grin against it. Kindness in a cruel world is a fundamental IDLES commandment. 

‘Carcinogenic’ is the stand-out track from a stand-up album. Like all good IDLES songs, it rails against the status quo and shouts in the face of the establishment. Lyrics such as “Where were you when the ship sank?/Probably not queuing for foodbanks” are a scathing indictment of the U.K.’s persistent class inequalities. ‘Carcinogenic’ is a rallying cry that spits in the face of injustice.

On ‘Ultra Mono’, IDLES explore more hard-hitting issues and gritty realities than an episode of Eastenders. Despite promising to “capture the feeling of a hip-hop record”, this album follows the musical direction of previous releases ‘Brutalism’ and ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’. It doesn’t deviate much from the brash, bold style IDLES are known for, but that’s not necessarily a bad thing. Well, if it ain’t broke…