I’m not sure if you’d call this a review. Its more me trying to rationalise why I’m finding it so hard to love the new album from IDLES…
I’ve swithered about writing anything at all about this album. It is a total conundrum for me. I’m having a strange relationship with this one. The first time I listened, I was underwhelmed. The second time I began to appreciate some of the tracks. Appreciate – wow even that sounds like damning praise. The next time again, I found myself picking holes. Time and again I changed my impression on various tracks. Maybe I shouldn’t say anything at all? After all, my mum used to say, if you haven’t got anything nice to say, don’t say anything at all.
When there is a band you have seen play incendiary gigs in sweaty venues and you walk out with a huge grin on your face from the sheer exhilaration caused by the atmosphere of the night. The same band that released a single that you played over and over again because it captured your imagination and the message was strong. The album that single came from was high in your list of favourite albums for that year. When that band releases their new album you should be excited, right? You should be anticipating the release desperate to hear the new songs? You should have pre-ordered so you get the special edition vinyl the day it comes out. Yes?
I didn’t feel the love for Ultra Mono that I perhaps would have expected to in advance of its release. Maybe it is because there have been so many great albums released this year already? Or maybe it is because every time a new single was released ahead of the album, I was disappointed. Is that it were my first thoughts on hearing the likes of Grounds and Mr Motivator.
So much so, I had a stream to review for about a week before I listened to it for the first time. I’ve listened to it many times now, I’m still not feeling the love. Unlike other albums that I hear for the first time, it didn’t set my world alight, it didn’t have me pressing repeat to listen again immediately. Today is one of my more lucid moments. I’m listening to it now and really enjoying tracks like Kill Them With Kindness and Ne Touche Pas Moi (with added sparkle from the inimitable Jehnny Beth -whose own solo album this year has had me reaching for repeat time and again). Don’t get me wrong. I want to love this album. This is what is probably frustrating me most. I don’t hate it. I like it, I just don’t love it.
The first track on the album almost switched me off. I’m prepared to give the benefit of the doubt with War and its use of onomatopoeia, but it feels almost childlike in its simplicity. As a music fan who appreciates lyrics, they did make me cringe slightly. This is a band that undoubtedly cares about the right things, a band that has its heart in the right place. They sing about causes and topics that are close to my heart. It just felt from the off that, while they tackle weighty topics in songs, the occasional clumsiness in the lyrics removes some of the potency.
Undoubtedly this band is a sheer powerhouse. The album is packed with passionate in your face mammoth tunes that make you sit up and listen, sometimes listening too closely is where I have a problem. I know this is a band that isn’t famed for its subtlety, hitting their messages home with the force of a sledgehammer. Maybe it is me, I’m mellowing with age and need a bit less bombast and brute force and more nuance. I’m going to sound like a walking contradiction saying I need more nuance then going on say I didn’t much like A Hymn when I first heard it. After several listens to the album though, with its understated delivery, it has slowly become one of my favourite tracks on the album.
Maybe that’s what my problem is. I was expecting this to be an instant album. I was expecting too much from it. It may be that it is, to coin an old cliché, a grower and I’ll come to love it over time. Whether I do or I don’t. I’ve still got a ticket to see them in Barrowland next year, if and when that gig goes ahead, I’m sure I’ll love it regardless of where my head is at with Ultra Mono. Live is where they excel.
As it is, here and now, for me it’s a good album, just not G.R.E.A.T. … yet.