Idles feat. LCD Soundsystem – Dancer Review

Brain rot is the belief that notes for a single from Idles are well underway, only to find no such page exists. Either lack of sleep or the excitement from LCD Soundsystem appearing on a track from the noisy post-punk troupe who just two years ago turned Glastonbury into their very own playground. Idles’ foray into dance, dropping the punk with their new piece Dancer, is a flicker of interest in an otherwise respectable discography which was beginning to suffer from the throes of repetition. Move it on and up, the bigger the better, and enlisting the help of James Murphy, Nancy Whang and company, is certainly a great way to stop the stifling, arthritic grip of complacency. Idles must be aware of this, as new track Dancer shifts them away from much of what they know. What a way to start the Tangk era. 

Opportunistic and thunderous strings flash through the opening, like the opening of a Hanna Barbera cartoon. Naturally the thick bass synonymous with Idles flickers in soon enough after. Lucifer-like and articulate new lyrics from Joe Talbot are a treat for the ears. LCD Soundsystem can be heard dancing their way through the chorus, demonstrating their backdrop abilities well enough. Dancer holds firm to the idea of being cheek-to-cheek with someone, anyone, out there in the open. Its punk abilities are neutered somewhat in the hopes of displaying a dark dance mixture. It works nicely and is the next step for Idles whose previous works were not growing tiresome, but needed this new, fiery sound.  

Nothing says Idles like a swing through the holding the phone for dear life, the intimacy between clinging to technology mirrored as an experience as good as holding a person. Overture in its beginning. Live it up with Dancer then, a thump and punk-like track which drifts from the style Idles has nurtured so far. It may bore those hardcore fans who wish to leapfrog one another in bloody mosh pits, but for those who wish for calmer times then steady yourselves for this release. Idles does not lose their desire to flail arms but it does shift to a calmer situation as Murphy and Whang implement what they can in the short period they are given. Still sick and hungry for more, the bass riff on this track is as cool as it gets. 

There is much to love about Dancer though its focus on cold butter and sweat dripping down the neck is not as fixating and obsessive as it could be. Talbot is in fine form as he cuts through the new sound with that sinister and unnerving vocal range which has cemented him as a firm contender in the conversation of great frontmen. Dancer can involve itself in the clangs of metal and ear-piercing shuffle toward new horizons, and this may be the massive next step Idles required. There they go, dancing cheek to cheek and enlisting legends of New York as they do so. LCD Soundsystem and Idles are kept separate throughout this, never the two are seemingly blurred together, though seeing their names together will be more than enough to bridge a very large gap in audiences.