Bleep

Bristolian punks Idles return as belligerent as ever on their third LP Ultra Mono. Joe Talbot’s sneering social commentary shouts down British monoculture and the quaint quietude of English provincialism on the likes of ‘Model Village’ and the gnarled croon of ‘A Hymn’ over pin-sharp jagged guitars and a ferocious, heightening rhythm section. The stop-start groove of ‘Grounds’ allows Talbot’s delivery an up-close intensity, all the better to lyrically re-appropriate figures of British establishment across ‘Mr. Motivator’. “How do you like them clichés?” he sings. This is a punk band in their stride, with fewer cares than when they started.