Hello! 😊👋
Welcome to a new edition of the Best Music of All Time newsletter!
Today’s music pick is a head-turning record that redefines the Bristol band’s idea of punk rock.
Genre: Alternative, Punk
Label: Partisan
Release Date: February 16, 2024
Vibe: 😮💨
Sure, I used the word “punk” in the intro, but I’d hesitate to label Idles’ fifth studio album, Tangk, as anything resembling their previous persona. This is a far more adventurous record, pushing past the teeth-gnashing mayhem they made their bones on and, instead, relish the soul-cleansing power of an indie-pop dancefloor. “I want to make people dance,” the band’s singer Joe Talbot told NME. “I want people to feel the love that I need in my life.” You can hear that mission statement in every note of “Dancer,” the group’s collaboration with tourmates LCD Soundsystem. The hard-charging, fuzzed-out groove is reminiscent of party starters like “Daft Punk is Playing at My House,” while Talbot gets off some pointed one-liners, like: “I can taste the mood in my mouth like particles of punch-drunk love.” It can get a bit wacky and, at times, somewhat self-indulgent, but make no mistake—Tangk is one of the most exhilarating LPs of 2024.
It’s also a record where most of the big swings make solid contact. “Pop Pop Pop” and “Hall and Oates” take Idles’ well-worn aesthetic and update it with an eye toward a more hybrid, accessible alt-rock sound. The tender “A Gospel” is the most cinematic track the band’s ever released, while “Jungle” gives off 2000s-era Radiohead vibes, largely thanks to producer Nigel Godrich behind the board. “At the time of writing this album, I was quite lost,” Talbot told Apple Music. “Not musically, it was a beautiful time for music. But emotionally, my nervous system needed organizing, and I needed to sort my shit out. So I did. That came from me realizing that I needed love in my life, and that I had sometimes lost my narrative in the art, which is that love is all I’ve ever sung about.”
As he proclaims on “Grace:” “No god, no king, I said, love is the ‘fing.”
👉 Don’t forget to click the album image to stream the album on your favorite platform 👈