A war-cry for the working class, ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ sees Bristol five-piece IDLES release their anticipated follow-up to 2017’s ‘Brutalism’, cementing the band as a bastion of modern British punk.

IDLES return triumphantly with another politically-charged LP in ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’, its grimy, biting and incredibly important. a voice for the down-trodden and for anyone let down by an English establishment moving further and further into populism.

The Album is a true punk record, driven largely by drums, guitar and bass its gritty jams passionately rile up the listener calling on the spirit of bands like Black Flag. However, where the record truly finds its feet are in the lyrics of frontman Joe Talbot; self-aware and witty, calling out the injustice and idiosyncrasy that populates the UK’s current political environment. To this end, ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ acts as a sort of rallying cry against the establishment, populated by tracks such as ‘Colossus’ with its outcry at homophobia and single ‘Danny Nedelko’, the ever-important stand in solidarity with immigrants in the United Kingdom.

Challenging other issues including sexuality and toxic masculinity on ‘Samaritans’, the album does not shy away from voicing its opinion. In a world where even the news is submerged in political bias, it’s refreshing to hear on the track ‘Television’, Talbot say “love yourself” and “fuck TV”, a space to shout about the things we feel hopeless about.

‘Great’ is a cathartic piece of satirical punk, pointing out the hypocrisy and ludicrously of Brexit and Little England mentality. Finishing poignantly with a dry delivery of ‘we are all in this together’, the track calls out and points the finger racists and neo-liberals for their crap.

The album doesn’t retire from sad melancholy songs either: ‘June’ is a heart-breaking account of the post-natal loss of Talbot’s child. Despite this, Talbot does not shy from bearing all in songs, recently re-issuing their debut record with his late Mother’s ashes pressed into it. However, the gentler songs are never juxtaposed against the grit, instead weaving together a narrative representative of working class Britain that gives a vivid picture of what they are fighting for.

From the get-go, ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ is at heart an album with a clear political beat. Not only does it capture and entrench the feeling of general dismay at the state of things, it provides a backdrop and voice for working-left ideals. Boiling down the album to one lyric, it’s very hard to choose,yet on ‘I’m Scum’, “I sing at fascists till my head falls off”, IDLES have absolutely managed to curate a bleakly accurate portrayal of the state of the United Kingdom.

For one, it is, perhaps unfoundedly, vaguely hopeful to see ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ reach the Top 10 on the album chart.

‘Joy as an Act of Resistance is out on Partisan Records now – get it here: iTunes | Amazon | bandcamp