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Four albums into an impressive career, and the tendency might be to offer up some throwaway comment along the lines of “Yungblud goes mainstream.” But that would be kinda inaccurate as scratch beneath the surface, and Dom Harrison, aka YUNGBLUD, has, over the last few years at least, always had a mainstream sound in places.
Not just the collaboration with Ozzy on ‘The Funeral’ from 2022, or his smouldering version of the Kiss classic ‘I Was Made For Loving You’ which featured in the Fall Guy movie, but the impressive ‘teresa’ from his 2020 album ‘Weird!’ was perfect for a mainstream audience and should have catapulted Harrison to a much wider demographic. But it didn’t. Perhaps the issue was that most cynics/older music fans would have judged Harrison by his appearance rather than his music and written him off as another disposable snotty tween-punk character.
Harrison is not the same kid who wrote ’21st Century Liability’ back in 2018, and his life experiences have moulded him into a strong songwriter with an insane knack for producing material that is easy to identify with, and ‘Idols’ has all the hallmarks of an artist maturing at every turn. The perfect example of this would be the current single ‘Zombie’.
As Harrison reveals, “This song was written initially about my grandmother going through serious injury and trauma. It’s about the feeling of deterioration and ugliness – shutting the world and the people we love out, out of the fear of becoming a burden or an embarrassment.”
One of the highlights on an album of many; it not only showcases the growth in Dom’s songwriting, but also in his ability to craft a song that stops the listener in their tracks and makes them pay attention. The Verve-like in places (it’s no coincidence that YUNGBLUD covered The Verve’s ‘Bitter Sweet Symphony’ for the BBC Radio 1 Live Lounge), it is stunning. Subtle string arrangements are peppered throughout, and the guitar tones are gorgeous. It’s Harrison’s vocal performance, however, that steals the show, and the result is impeccable.
The press blurb has YUNGBLUD describing the album as, “A love letter to self-reclamation… to rock music… [and] to life; in all its fucking madness.” And the nine-minute opening track (and lead single) ‘Hello Heaven, Hello’ features all of that. Especially the “rock music” part.
Like the sort of musical suite that Queen used to conjure up in the early days, it has many facets to it. From the pensive, atmospheric opening, through the gradual build (with pulsing, rhythmic percussion) into some explosive Townshend-like power chords, it thrills constantly. The mid-section is classic The Who with a killer swaggering bootstomp, vocal hooks that linger on for days on end, and a sizzling guitar solo that will no doubt have radio playlist compliers reaching for the edit button. Scratch that, chances are that daytime radio wouldn’t go near this anyway, which is a great shame as it is arguably one of the strongest rock songs by any British artist released this year, thus far. Yes, it owes a lot to Pete Townshend, and would not look out of place on the soundtrack to ‘Quadrophenia’, but it is magnificent and how ballsy is it to open an album with a nine-minute slab of classic rock!
‘Idols’ has so much going on that although it works as a collection of songs, it works better as one complete body of work in the way that albums used to before streaming and playlists. Once the buzz of the opener fades out, it’s straight into the light and airy ‘Idols PT 1’, followed by the Britpop-fuelled ‘Lovesick Lullaby’ (a mix of Phil Daniels on Blur’s ‘Parklife’ and Liam Gallagher at his sneering best), and after the aforementioned ‘Zombie’ floors the listener, Harrison picks them back up again with the Placebo-meets-U2 ‘The Greatest Parade’. Five songs in, and each so varied from the previous that it’s anyone’s guess what comes next.
That same variety continues throughout the latter stages of the album, and moments like ‘Change’ and ‘War’ (both feature a heady mix of lush, atmospheric arrangements combined with a guitar solo that takes centre stage), ‘Ghosts’ (where the U2 comparisons are inevitable), and the Elton John-tinged closing track ‘Supermoon’ all excel. The latter is surely Harrison reaching out to Sir Elton and saying, “Let’s go to work”.
The first part of a double album – with part two to follow later this year – ‘Idols’ is nothing short of a triumph, and a huge victory for Dom Harrison/YUNGBLUD, who must have gotten so much static from the suits once he told them his plans for his next project. Stunning from start to finish.
Available Friday 20th June via Locomotion/Island Records.
Review – Dave
Photo credits – Tom Holland
‘Up Close & Personal’ Record Store Shows
8-Jul-25 London Kingston Pryzm with Banquet Records
10-Jul-25 Dundee Livehouse with Assai Records
11-Jul-25 Liverpool Dome with Jacaranda Records
13-Jul-25 Bristol Prospect Building with Rough Trade
15-Jul-25 Southampton Engine Rooms with Vinilo
The Idols UK Arena Tour
17-Apr-26 Leeds First Direct Arena
18-Apr-26 Cardiff Utilita Arena
20-Apr-26 Glasgow OVO Hydro
23-Apr-26 Birmingham Utilita Arena
24-Apr-26 London The O2
25-Apr-26 Manchester AO Arena
More information, HERE
