CRAWLERE

From JanglesI stumbled onto this album through a YouTube video two years ago. It was a "From The Basement" show. This version of The Beachland Ballroom was easily the most emotionally raw music I heard that year. It stole my breath, left me with goosebumps, and made IDLES my sole obsession for weeks to follow. (Video linked below.) IDLES is one of those bands/artists that is so on their own wavelength that words don't do them justice. If I'm forced to try, I'd label them a post-punk amalgamation of confrontational songwriting, strange sounds, and purposeful optimism. You don't have to look much further than their aptly named album "Joy as an Act of Resistance" for a statement of purpose. (Never Fight A Man With A Perm might be considered one, as well...) Crawler seemingly marked a step in a different direction for the band. Prior work was a bit more direct in its tie to punk. For this, their fourth full length album, they hooked up with Kenny Beats on production. Kenny comes primarily from the hip-hop world, having done work with Vince Staples and Denzel Curry, amongst others. (Seems that his most recent work was Geese's Getting Killed.) To their post-punk roots, Kenny added a mix of electronic experimentation and brutal minimalism that creates a pretty ominous atmosphere for IDLES to explore their deeply personal themes. To be clear, this is not a sunshine and rainbows album. This is music as therapy for some serious trauma. By the end of it we feel A-OK, but man is it a trip getting there. This one very much deserves focused attention with highlights including Car Crash, The Beachland Ballroom, The Wheel, Crawl! and Progress. Live From The Basement: The Beachland Ballroom https://youtu.be/7rdSlshLV9U?si=FXUTN9IKO8-AAf80&t=1414