A tease of a new album? Or are Idles just helping shift the upcoming Darren Aronofsky film, Caught Stealing? Frontman Joe Talbot did suggest the Tangk era was coming to an end. It is time we stopped calling every moment from an artist an “era,” but what else can you call it? Tangk took Idles far and wide, to festivals across the globe, and was a brilliant balance of their old-style anger and the bold choice to make love their focus. Love is the thing, the band’s slogan of the time, is not just a phase. The thing for Tangk was defiance, a rise above the noise, and Idles made it clear they were going to continue down this path of forgiveness and friendliness. Rabbit Run, their latest single, offers that familiar warmth with a collection of harsh-sounding instrumentals. The band has brought on the balance brilliantly yet again.
Familiarity is not a crutch but a warmth. It may be hard to distinguish the two but Idles does well to make it clear. Those thrashing sounds are matched by a few new vocal additions from Talbot and a fadeout, which does not sound very punk. But then the act of surprise is a fundamental of punk music, ergo it must be punk. Rabbit Run is a continued softening of Idles’ sound, but not of their mantra or their means of creation. There’s a little more of that industrial genre sound which Tangk brought on with its singles but eventually shied away from. Part of the beauty Idles has captured is in creating catchy monotony. Their riffs and bassline for Rabbit Run are initially simple, that droning inevitability which backs some beautiful wordplay from Talbot. It’s the recognisable build these instrumentals make, though, that is what Rabbit Run does best of all. A crash of the cymbals, an increase to the volume as the soft paranoia and fear take hold. A classic of their sound and done well once more.
A small prejudice hangs over any song written for a soundtrack. There is a sense that an artist is not going to dish out their best works for a song set to back Austin Butler, inevitably running through an alleyway. But those days of throwaway songs are long gone, especially now that the soundtrack can be easily accessed and streamed before the movie has released. It fits in well with the rest of their songs, old and new. Rabbit Run has the groove of their new sound but the spirit of their earliest works. It’s a nice blur which is certainly what Idles fans were wanting from Tangk. But change is good for the soul, it has certainly benefitted the Danny Nedelko hitmakers.
Rabbit Run is a bit light despite the heavy instrumentals which filter through. It serves the film, rather than the band. There’s nothing wrong with that, of course, that is the job Idles were assigned, but it does not have that usual flair. Perhaps it is a chance for the band to experiment safely, to figure out where they want their sound to head next. If that is the case, then they are pushing for a continuation of Tangk tones. They’re not prodding the bear with these lyrics; they’re picking at the beast and sounding idle as they do so. It’s a stern look at the world Idles has on their hands here, no surprise there. But their disgust and distaste for the world are built on a hope for love elsewhere, down the line. That is what keeps them going, and it is the same for Rabbit Run.
Discover more from Cult Following
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
