The term ‘Brutalism’ stems from the brutalist style of architecture that saw its heyday in the 1960s. With a distinct raw, uncomfortable style and a lack of concern to please aesthetically, it was seen as a response from that generation to show they were no longer as optimistic as the one before them.

Five years have passed since Idles’ debut EP Welcome and the Bristol five-piece have slowly altered their songwriting to suit this framework. The result is a debut album of instantaneous raw punk under the backdrop of aggressive lyricisms about the state of society in the UK today. Working within a consistent structure of intricate drumming, substantial bass and violent guitars, frontman Joe Talbot paints abstract pictures of British life in order to highlight the ludicrousness and/or severity of it.

“I’m always going to stay true to myself and my music will therefore cover things that I’m pissed off about. I want there to be a dialogue, I don’t want to bark at people,” said Talbot in a recent interview with Brightonfinest. This is evident straight away in ‘Heel’; opening at breakneck speed, the first track instantly sets the tone with a wave of guitars as he waxes lyrical about the stupidity of the suburban dream.

The band’s most famous and accessible track ‘Well Done’ then follows as a “simple riposte to a lifetime of advice from the Saturday night TV congregation and the ivory tower fucks that think it necessary to send ‘helpful’ quips in the direction of the working classes,” according to Talbot.

Almost the entire record feels like some form of cathartic release for him and none more so than ‘Mother’. With a hardcore style bassline leading proceedings, he delivers vocals about the under appreciation of NHS staff – a subject close to his heart after it allowed him to care for his late mother in her final years. As the track builds, so does his anger: “The best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich,” he screams, whilst simultaneously giving the impression that he had to be restrained during the recording of this severely personal song.

Meanwhile, despite their obscure titles, ‘Date Night’ and ‘Rachel Khoo’ frame the ludicrousness of social etiquettes we place ourselves under in the UK, with the tracks then exposing aspects in society that require improvement. Whilst ‘Faith in the City’ deals with the death of the frontman’s uncle and the role religion played in his life. ‘1049 Gotho’ is then the closest the band comes to replicating their earlier work with its sharp guitars and piercing reverberation.

The militaristic drum beat of live favourite ‘Divide & Conquer’ leads the five-piece into another track that references the NHS and how it is being undercut by the current government, before ‘Stendhal Syndrome’ takes its aim at modern art but also offering an olive branch.

One of the LP’s finest songs, ‘Exeter’, is the anthem for the disenfranchised youths of the forgotten British heartlands: “What people don’t realise is there’s a lot of violence in these small towns and a lot of savage drug problems because people have nothing to do. Every time I use to go out in Exeter there was a fight. People would get thrown out of bars at 1.30am and it was like a bottleneck with everyone shit-faced and bored,” explained the songwriter. This situation is referenced in the song as it slows down midway to allow Talbot to set the scene before a cacophony of guitars take hold in what is a frantic and heavy finale.

‘Benzocaine’ then continues this frenzied pace along with ‘White Privilege’: “Always poor, never bored” sings Talbot, as he again puts on his social commentary hat before album closer ‘Slow Savage’ decelerates the record in what is a self reflective and haunting ending.

Every few years an album comes along that perfectly encapsulates the distinct feeling of that time period. Brutalism is that album. Each track sounds like a pure cry of emotion as the anger builds and Talbot salivates. In 13 songs the group has managed to articulate the state of the UK using a method that is minimalistic in its nature, but with a dark, meaningful soul hidden within it.

In a period in which the political landscape of the world has been shaken to its core, Idles are at the vanguard of bands making a statement and framing it in a way that is easy to digest and feel an affinity towards (providing you’re not a member of the Conservative party).
Paul Hill

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