IDLES TANGK
Released Feb 16, 2024 Partisan Records
Consensus forming 3 professional reviews Updated Oct 4, 2026
Broadly positive consensus
Consensus is still forming across 3 professional reviews. IDLES's TANGK arrives as a reinvention that pairs the band's familiar ferocity with surprising tenderness, and the critical consensus suggests it largely succeeds.
How ChoruScore worksCritics' Top Tracks
The songs critics returned to most
Gift Horse
1 critic mention
“The thumping latest single “Gift Horse” delivers the trademark IDLES thunder” — The Line of Best Fit
Dancer
2 critic mentions
“the theatrical “Dancer” and the driving “Hall & Oates” are tracks set to appease fans” — The Line of Best Fit
Roy
2 critic mentions
“From the low swing of “Roy”, to the gentle whisper of “Grace” — The Line of Best Fit
Full critic consensus
IDLES's TANGK arrives as a reinvention that pairs the band's familiar ferocity with surprising tenderness, and the critical consensus suggests it largely succeeds. Across three professional reviews, critics point to an expanded musical palette where electronics, grooves and soulful vocals soften the edges without erasing IDLES' signature bite; the record earned a 76.67/100 consensus score across 3 reviews. Standout tracks repeatedly named by reviewers include “Monolith”, “Dancer” and “Roy”, with “Gift Horse” and opener “IDEA 01” also singled out for moments of thunder and fragile beauty.
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
IDEA 01
Gift Horse
POP POP POP
Roy
A Gospel
Dancer
Grace
Hall & Oates
Jungle
Gratitude
Monolith
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What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 3 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
IDLES turn expectation on its head with TANGK, making the best songs on TANGK - like “Gift Horse” and “Dancer” - feel both thunderous and tender in equal measure. The reviewer relishes how “Gift Horse” still delivers the trademark IDLES thunder, even as tracks such as “Dancer” and “Hall & Oates” court theatrical and driving moods that will satisfy old and new fans. There is a clear throughline of melancholic beauty - “Roy” and “Grace” provide low swings and gentle whispers - which explains why these are often named among the best tracks on the album. The voice here is surprised but convinced: the experiment of love songs pays off, adding fragility to IDLES' catalogue without losing their signature bite.
Key Points
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“Gift Horse” is the best song for marrying trademark IDLES thunder with intimate subject matter.
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TANGK’s core strength is its successful shift to love songs that reveal a new fragility while retaining the band’s signature power.
Themes
Critic's Take
IDLES’s TANGK finds its best tracks in the tensions between tenderness and noise, with “Dancer” and “Monolith” standing out as revealing moments. The reviewer lingers on “Dancer” as a lead single that hints at an expanded palette, and frames “Monolith” as the closing revelation where the album’s love theme resolves. Opener “IDEA 01” and the pair “Grace”/“A Gospel” are noted for exposing unexpected delicacy, while riotous moments like “Gratitude” remind listeners IDLES have not abandoned ferocity. This account answers searches for the best tracks on TANGK by centring those songs that best capture the record’s clash of tones.
Key Points
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“Dancer” is the best track because it reveals an expanded palette and dramatic new elements.
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The album’s core strength is the collision of tenderness and ferocity that uncovers unexpected beauty.
Themes
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Critic's Take
IDLES sound like a band reinventing themselves on TANGK, and the review makes clear the best tracks land where tenderness meets daring. Joe Talbot’s softer croons elevate “Jungle” and “Monolith” into the album’s emotional center, while the hypnotic, '50s-spiced “Roy” is singled out as a stylistic high point. The reviewer frames these as the best songs on TANGK because they show growth, cinematic ambition and a shift from righteous rage to love-driven grooves. This is an album that hits the mark more often than not, so searches for the best tracks on TANGK should start with “Jungle”, “Monolith” and “Roy”.
Key Points
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The best song is best because it shows a new stylistic reach and hypnotic, '50s-spiced charm.
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The album's core strengths are emotional reinvention, cinematic production, and Joe Talbot's soulful vocal shift.