Don’t Worry – Idealism LP

Description

Idealismis an album about navigating life in the 2020s as millennial adults, and all the difficulties and uncertainties that come with that — knowing you’ll probably never be able to afford to buy a house, and that a simple grocery shop costs way more than ever before. But it’s also about all the joys and positives of modern life too — being kind to yourself, being kind to other people, and overcoming difficulties. The band tries to capture that dichotomy on this album, hence the titleIdealism, which the dictionary says is “the unrealistic belief in or pursuit of perfection.” The album has been a long time in the making, diligently demoed before tracking across studios in London and Essex. Taking a more pop production approach, layering parts and additional keyboards, synthesizers and percussion to add a richer and fuller sound to their traditional indie rock set up. Nostalgia has always been a running theme forDon’t Worry, as displayed on 2022’sRemorseless Swingand their 2018 debut albumWho Cares Anyway?. There’s a decent dose of it on this new album still, including on the cover, with a photograph taken in their home of Harlow New Town in 2001 byJim Brown. And in their musical influences, Pavement, Pixies, Smashing Pumpkins, The Streets,Fleetwood Mac,UK Grime, andThe GTA Vice City Soundtrack(alongside contemporary influences such asFontaines D.C.,MJ Lenderman,Andy Shauf). But perhaps for the first time on this album, they push through the comfort of the past, embrace the present and look forward to the future with hope.