Idles break new ground on big, bold and brash new album Tangk

Singer Joe Talbot told the NME last year that he wanted to make an album that would encourage the listener to dance and while this effort doesn’t quite do that, it demonstrates that there’s much more to Idles than radio-friendly punk songs.

Lead single Dancer comes closed to fulfilling the frontman’s wish. A pulsating confection that finds the band collaborating with LCD Soundsystem’s James Murphy and Nancy Whang, it sounds exactly what a union like Idles and the New York electronica mavens should sound like. Big, bold and brash, it makes for a marvellous adrenaline-fuelled three minutes.

Hall & Oates makes quite an impact in an even shorter run time and revels in its riot of riffs, percussive energy and Talbot’s manic vocal delivery.

Fresh pastures are explored on Roy, an alternative love song, whose first half is all about a rock band practicing restraint, before pulling the trigger. “I’m a smart man,” go the lyrics, “but I’m dumb for you.” At one point, towards the end, Talbot is in crooner mood. “I’m sorry,” he sings, with feeling, “for all the things that I said.”

The piano-led Gospel provides the album’s beating heart. A tender, beautiful song that sounds unlike anything this band have released before, it benefits from a sensitive production. It’s Nigel Godrich — Radiohead’s go-to producer — who’s working wonders on the desk here. Tangk is a joint production — Kenny Beats, who has worked on previous Idles albums, returns.

No strangers to Ireland, Idles return for a series of dates this year. First, in June, they support LCD Soundsystem at Malahide Castle; then they play a pair of headline shows at Dublin’s 3Olympia in November. The latter dates are of their ‘Love is the Fing’ tour, a line borrowed from Grace on the new album.

US quintet Real Estate snared many, including this writer, with their fourth album, In Mind. Its marvellous opening song, Darling, set the scene — a jangle-pop wonder with thought-provoking lyrics.

They’ve refined their sound since then and their sixth album Daniel is an exercise in exquisitely honed indie. Some may quibble that their songs are risk-averse, but when tracks such as Water Underground are as beautifully rendered as they are here, existing fans won’t complain.

The title may be a reference to producer Daniel Tashian, who’s best known for his work with Kacey Musgraves. He has helped the band craft a mellifluous sound and Martin Courtney’s unaffected vocals keep the listener hanging on. As with much of the New Jersey band’s output, this album has oodles of slow-burn appeal.