From Idol to Individual: “Idols” is Yungblud’s Most Honest Album Yet

Photo by Tom Pallant

If there’s one word that comes to mind in connection with British rocker Yungblud, it’s bold. Never one to shy away from making waves and rebelling against norms, he’s dabbled in pop, rock, rap, and punk across his previous albums. But his newest album, Idols, pushes those boundaries even further. Loud, vulnerable, and theatrical, Idols is a wildly ambitious record – and may be his best one yet.

Throughout the album, Yungblud grapples with the idea of hero worship, while dismantling the versions of himself that fame, fans, and even his past selves helped construct. There’s Britpop in its bones, glam rock at its edges, and emotional chaos at its core.

Idols opens with “Hello Heaven, Hello,” a sprawling nine-minute epic and the album’s first single. If the runtime isn’t bold enough, the structure is: the track moves through three distinct arcs, from rock screams to orchestral swells to a dreamy, atmospheric finale, with Yungblud’s “Hello’s” ringing out as an invitation into the album. Remarkably, the song’s creation started four years ago, while Yungblud was still touring his 2020 album, weird! 

“Hello Heaven, Hello is the opening statement to my new album,” Yungblud shared in a press release. It’s a journey of self-reclamation, a goodbye to the past and how you may have known or perceived me before and a hello to the future and where I’m going. It sets the precedent for what this album is.” In an interview with Variety’s “Behind the Song,” Yungblud revealed that he doesn’t view the track as part of Idols, instead seeing is as a prelude to the world that follows.

That world begins with “Idols Pt. I,” a track that blends lush instrumentals with melodic vocals. The guitar riff sounds like it belongs in a U2 song – far from anything you’d expect to hear on a Yungblud album. And that’s exactly the brilliance of Idols. With each song, Yungblud defies expectations and reimagines himself as an artist.

“Idols Pt. I” flows seamlessly into “Lovesick Lullaby,” the album’s second single. With its bouncy pop-rock sound, this track feels reminiscent of his earlier releases – less experimental, but undeniably fun. It was also my own introduction to the album, and it immediately made me want to hear it in full. “Making this song was a fucking party and you can hear that on the recording,” Yungblud shared about the track. “[I tried to] let my subconscious do a lot of the talking and then make sense of my words the following afternoon in a kitchen, hungover, eating fish and chips with a cup of tea. I've been on a journey trying to find meaning in different places all over the world, for which I am forever grateful, but it felt as though my feet left the ground a little too much and I had to bring myself back… to British music, to British art and culture.”

“The Greatest Parade” “Change,” “Monday Murder,” and “Fire” are more songs that channel a British sound – you can tell that Yungblud is influenced by the past, but it never feels like he’s trying to replicate anything, offering unique tracks that are sprinkled with nostalgia, rather than seeped in it.

One of the album’s most emotionally raw moments comes in “Zombie,” where Yungblud reflects on watching his grandmother change after suffering trauma. “It’s about the feeling of deterioration and ugliness,” he shared, “shutting out the world and the people we love out of the fear of becoming a burden or an embarrassment.” The accompanying music video, featuring Florence Pugh as a nurse, spotlights the struggles of caregivers with striking tenderness.

Towards the latter half of the album, “Ghosts” and “War” are another two standouts. “Ghosts” in particular delivers one of the strongest builds in the project, riding nearly three minutes of escalating instrumentals to an explosive payoff.

Idols marks a new era for Yungblud – it’s messy, genre-blurring, emotionally charged, and above all, fearless. Whether you’ve followed his journey from the start or are just now tuning in, this album offers a raw, theatrical glimpse into an artist unafraid to evolve. As Yungblud puts it, “I feel like for the first time in a long time I’m exactly where I need to be and doing exactly what I’m supposed to be doing - making exactly what I want - exploring the past, the present, the future and most importantly, myself. This album feels magical to me and this is where it starts — where the fuck are we gonna end up? Let’s see. Get on the horse. Let’s ride.”

Idols is the first installment of a double album, with the release date of part two yet to be announced. For now, Yungblud is busy touring, with various dates in Europe, Asia, and North America planned this year. You can find more information here, and check out his North American dates below.