Under the stage name Yungblud, the Doncaster musician has amassed a loyal – almost messianic – following, boasting over six million followers on TikTok. That’s more than The 1975, Imagine Dragons and Oasis combined. 2022’s self-titled effort saw a gentle refinement of his craft while leaning further into a punk and new wave aesthetic. Idols, Harrison’s fourth release, clearly has its sights set on conquering arenas and stadiums, while showing great reverence for the sounds of the 90s. Unfortunately – aside from a few exceptions – much of the material suffers as a result.
In truth, Idols starts rather promisingly. “Hello Heaven, Hello” is deliciously bombastic – excessive, even – but in all the right ways. Warped electronica punctuates a stirring introduction before unexpectedly transitioning into strutting arena rock, adorned with glam riffs and a Queen-esque appreciation for grandeur. It’s unlike anything Harrison has ever recorded before – an audacious nine-minute rug pull few would anticipate and a commendable gamble. Disappointingly, this manic sense of abandon is quickly dispensed with in favour of a collection of songs that range from barely serviceable to instantly forgettable. That being said, the title track is particularly lovely, imbued with mature songcraft and elevated dramatically by a wonderful chorus – its sweeping string arrangement landing somewhere between Echo & The Bunnymen, circa Ocean Rain, and McAlmont & Butler.
However, from here, there’s a significant dip in quality. The worst offender may be recent single “Lovesick Lullaby” which sounds like a Blur song written by AI. “Zombie” has noble intentions but the result is an awfully meagre and by-the-numbers early-2000s soft rock ballad – imagine Snow Patrol crudely spliced together with The Calling and Goo Goo Dolls. By the time “Ghosts” arrives, it feels like we've already been here two or three times before, and suddenly, you are Bill Murray in Groundhog Day – waking to the unfortunate opening notes of Sonny & Cher’s “I Got You Babe” over and over and over again. It’s an issue that isn’t ever remedied and turns Idols into a repressive slog. “War” carries all the signifiers of being epic without actually being – well – epic. It attempts to reclaim momentum, yet, it too is marred by more generic and predictable writing.
And herein lies the problem with Idols as a whole.
Too often, the record defaults into tiring moments of pastiche: the
bland Cure rip-off “Monday Murder”, the drawn-out, “Creep”-aping vocal
break on “Zombie”, and the way “Fire” appears to mindlessly lift the
melody directly from Nirvana's “All Apologies”. I could go on. Once you
strip these elements away, Idols’ hollow musical architecture
begins to crumble. There's a big difference between homage and parody.
The 1975, for all their detractors, have been exceptional over the past
decade at recontextualising distinct eras of music. Here, you get the
impression the two are being conflated.
Another recurring issue after multiple listens is the
absence of fun that usually permeates most Yungblud releases. The mood –
earnest and mawkish – seems completely at odds with his modus operandi.
Is this really the same person who gave us the exhilarating, riotous
single “The Funeral”, where euphoria and melancholy hung together
seamlessly? The lighter moments – such as the aforementioned “Lovesick
Lullaby” – either miss the mark entirely or barely register. That’s not
to say maturing as an artist is a bad thing. But somewhere along its 47 or so minutes, Harrison’s identity is somewhat lost – smothered
in a fog of uber-clean, uber-serious production choices.
Bizarrely, this has been billed as part one of a double
album. One can only hope that the impressive, bonkers ambition displayed
on “Hello Heaven, Hello” is retained for the next chapter. However, as
it stands, Idols fails to expand on the promise of its grand
opening statement, instead resulting in a heavily flawed fourth outing,
overly reliant on the use of tired rock caricatures and repetitive song
structures.
