Idles are the most important band in Britain right now. You can fight me on this if you want? From the smashing, vibrance of ‘War’ through to the frenetic, chaotic and brutal ‘Anxiety’ and the baiting, anti-anthem single, ‘Model Village’, the five-piece have cemented themselves as world-beaters, and future stadium fillers.
In terms of album ‘Ne Touche Pas Moi’ exhibits the twitchy power-pop that we have come to expect from the unit, while spreading a positive message around personal space, and consent. Nice! Meanwhile, ‘Carcinogenic’ takes a cue from contemporaries including LIFE and Fontaines D.C – all pop-hooks and punk snarl. ‘Danke’ finishes things off in typically motivating fashion.
With this record acting as a bold statement of intent, Idles will make the alternative “mainstream cool” again, like PIL and the Pistols, before them, Idles are set to infiltrate Hollywood culture (movies, TV shows and award ceremonies etc) in 2020/21, bringing brutalism, and it will bloody beautiful.
To summarise then, the band have created a series of important, emotive bangers to soundtrack these times (and help people get through ‘em), and it will be one more step towards becoming a global musical phenomenon championing realism, honesty and love for the self, and others. There is no band out there as passionate, and dedicated to pure musical change than Idles right now. Once again, and for all – Idles, Britain’s most important band in 2020. Five stars from us.
Words: Dom Smith
