ALBUM REVIEW: Yungblud – "Idols"

Release Date: June 20, 2025

Label: Locomotion/Capitol

Reviewed by: SoundCheck Mag

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The Theatrics Return—Louder, Bigger, and All Heart

Yungblud has always thrived on drama, but with "Idols", he doesn’t just lean into it, he builds a cathedral out of it. Gone are the safe hooks and polished polish of his earlier mainstream plays. Instead, we’re given a sweeping, unapologetically massive rock record that flirts with operatic scale and emotional overdrive, drenched in Britpop bravado, glam rock excess, and a pounding pulse of purpose.

“Hello Heaven, Hello” Sets the Stage for Chaos & Catharsis

Clocking in at just over nine minutes, the opener 'Hello Heaven, Hello' feels like a curtain rising on an existential play. It’s as if Bowie met early Muse backstage and handed Yungblud the megaphone. It’s bold. It’s bloated. It’s brilliant. And it instantly lets you know: subtlety is on sabbatical.

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An Album Made for the Stage (and the Stars)

From the soaring strings of 'Zombie' to the raw-silk grit of 'Lovesick Lullaby', "Idols" knows exactly what it is, a soundtrack for outcasts, romantics, and anyone who’s ever wanted to scream into the wind. These aren’t pop songs. They’re movements. Every crescendo, every layered vocal, every swelling orchestral stab feels like it was made to echo through a stadium rafters or a broken heart at 2AM.

There are shades of Queen, The Verve, even a little early My Chemical Romance, but it's never derivative. Yungblud pulls from rock’s grand past to make a personal future.

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Not for the Mild-Mannered (and That’s the Point)

Is it over-the-top? Absolutely. But that’s the point. This isn’t music built for background listening, "Idols" demands attention, vulnerability, and maybe a few tears. There’s no wink, no irony. Just a full send into sincerity, sorrow, and sound.

He reportedly recorded much of this in solitude, post-breakup, post-tour, and post-algorithm. And it shows. For all the album’s flash and thunder, there’s an emotional throughline that hits hardest when things get quiet. Tracks like 'Ghosts' and 'Change' drip with loss and longing, even as the arrangements tower sky-high.

Final Verdict: A Bold Swing That Mostly Soars

"Idols" is Yungblud’s love letter to the music that saved him and a middle finger to playing it safe. It's bloated and brilliant, raw and theatrical, and packed with enough ambition to either collapse under its own weight or lift off entirely. Thankfully, it does the latter.

This is Yungblud untethered, unfiltered, and finally sounding like the rockstar he’s always claimed to be.

Rating: 7/10 A flawed but fearless ode to feeling too much. And honestly? That’s rock’n’roll at its finest.