IDLES - Crawler 2LP (colour vinyl)

Deluxe edition half speed master. Double 180gm vinyl housed in gatefold sleeve with inners. Also available as limited edition single LP on amber colour vinyl.

IDLES have made a name for themselves as one of the most exciting Punk groups in Britain right now. They've done so by regularly releasing blistering records that are front-to-back heavy and focused on saying what they believe needs to be said. The lyrics are "sung" by Joe Talbot whose vocals will not allow you to ignore the message of each individual track and especially not an entire album. This is doubled by the simplicity of the lyrics, which have eschewed the idea of subtlety in favour of blunt force.

CRAWLER is not nearly as immediate as its predecessors. A soft haze of melancholy, with intermittent dread, flows through the background of much of the record. A fog that can be found on both the heaviest and softest moments here, but one that helps tie things together in a way that is currently unique to an IDLES' project.

For anyone worried that this album is going to be too great a departure from their Punk/Post-Punk roots, you need not. Only a handful of songs truly shift away, while most remain true to what makes IDLES at their foundation. Instead they just lean in different directions, broadening the horizons for the listeners as to what an IDLES song can be and for the band as to what they could do next.