I can't say I'm particularly surprised or engaged by anything happening on "Death by Rock and Roll." I hear this kind of basic hard rock these days, and I have to wonder, are these dime a dozen bands failing to deviate from the stale blues scale-derived riffs and soloing, 4/4 time signatures, and vacuous vocal styles because they are choosing to, or because the subgenre as a whole is just so creatively bankrupt by this point within its stylistic confines that this is just what we're ... read more
The first half feels like a natural continuation of what was happening on K.G., but it is on side B where L.W. fully comes into its own, culminating in a heavy, groovy, stoner rock-meets-djent wave of sound that hits you hard and doesn't relent until the needle hits the return groove.
Musically, this release is another boundary-pushing step forward for hyper-pop. Lyrically, it is a sex-positive feminist anthem that celebrates the toppling of heteronormativy, escape from the gender binary, and self-love. I can't think of any other record with more positive vibes this year than this one, nor as many tongue-in-cheek moments of pure fun.
A charming, uplifting opus that exists somewhere between art pop and prog folk while managing to retain a sonic identity distinct enough from both to be considered something truly unique and not to be missed.
In a year chock full of absolutely astounding post-punk records, this Idles release simply did not hit me as hard or linger with me as long as many of its 2020 counterparts. It's perfectly good, but not as distinct as it could have, or arguably should have, been.
Fine melodies. Clean production. But nothing all that unique or new going on here. To be frank, you've already heard this music many times before, and done better.
The first song is genuinely something special, but the remainder of the album never reaches those heights again.
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