This week’s episode of is dedicated to two of the greatest indie rock success stories over the last decade. First up is Idles, whose new album Crawler follows up 2020’s Ultra Mono and continues down a musical path toward what Steven Hyden recently called “the mix of political righteousness and musical bluntness that once caused people to call The Clash ‘the only band that matters.'” Does Idles actually pull of the tightrope walk on Crawler?

Next on the review list is Courtney Barnett, whose new album Things Take Time, Take Time is her first in a little more than three years. While Barnett isn’t necessarily as consistently discussed on music publications and music writer Twitter as a band like Idles, her albums are always well-received and her touring business is consistently growing and lucrative, making for an ideal situation for indie rock stardom. Things Take Time, Take Time is surely to continue Barnett’s trajectory and build her fervent fan base.

In this week’s Recommendation Corner, Ian is plugging the latest release from SeeYouSpaceCowboy, and Steve is enjoying A Way Forward, the second album in two years from Brooklyn trio Nation Of Language.

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