IDLES are a post-punk group from Bristol that have rose to fame due to their brutally honest lyrics and surprisingly catchy tunes. Their debut album 'Brutalism' is quite possibly one of the greatest punk records of all time that combined elements of heavy rock with the witty lyricism that is only found in spoken word. They gained a huge cult following because of the record that has took them on a journey to selling out shows and making a lot of their records incredibly valuable.
The singles leading up to this album have resonated with a lot of people and have helped them lead an album campaign that is absolutely buzzing to the maximum. "Samaritans" is a song that resonated with me and a lot of other men as well as it deals with the toxic masculinity that is abundant in today's society and the whole idea of telling people to "man up". It's very clever because the way that Idles deal with their topics is to hit it head on without you realising.
"Great" deals with the whole idea of brexit and the absolute cataclysm it's going to be, and ultimately this is why people love this band! They make music that people can relate to and music that people can take in, make it their own and take their own meaning from these things - which ultimately is the main reason for music isn't it? To feel things whether it be hate, love, disappointment, joy etc... and Idles are perfect at that even taking on their own terrible circumstances to write about is heartbreaking to listen to but their optimism and outlook is so empowering. This is a must listen. Pure. Pure Genius.
10/10