A lightning bolt against reaction... Idles - Joy as an Act of Resistance If someone forced you at gun point to describe Idles latest album in two words, you could do a lot worse than angry and loud. The Bristol-based band have created a fierce, driving sound in both this latest offering, and their 2017 debut album Brutalism. Joy as an Act of Resistance is full of rage at the Tories, toxic masculinity, fascism, nationalism and a thousand other injustices. It is explicitly left wing, and thankfully doesnt venture down the cultural low point of comparing everything to Brexit. Standout lyrics include, I am Dennis Skinners Molotov and this snowflake is an avalanche on Im Scum. And My blood brother is an immigrant on the anti-racist track Danny Nedelko. There are plenty of moments like this through the album. The music is not just about sticking two fingers to the reactionaries. Some tracks reveal a deep vulnerability. Lead singer Joe Talbot said, This album is an attempt to be vulnerable to our audience, to encourage vulnerabilitya mere brave naked smile in this shitty new world. Idles on stage last year (Pic: Marcel van Leeuwen/Flickr) During the making of Joy as an Act of Resistance, Talbots daughter died, an experience that forms the basis of June. In the song he references Ernest Hemmingways line baby shoes for sale never worn. The bands music has been raw since their first EP in 2014. If any change has taken place in their new album, it is added complexity. At the heart of the album is a sometimes painful honesty. It is that bravery to freely express yourself that so terrifies the tyrants, said Talbot. When we share each others pain we become stronger as communities and less reliant on our state. Alistair Farrow
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