Inertia (Pendulum)

The legendary Pendulum finally release their latest full-length album - it's been fifteen years since "Immersion", but the band shows no signs of stagnation.

Their trifecta of albums previously released through the 2010s have, over the years, come to be a staple of modern DnB. But in these fifteen years the band has been succeeded by acts like Noisia, Sub Focus, Chase & Status - waves of drum n bass that have taken the reins of evolution from the grasp of Pendulum during their time as Knife Party. Now they're here again, perhaps to take back their throne. How? The same old formula. Pendulum, traditionally, started off as an electronic rock group, and so "Inertia" is a return to their roots. Well, many were unhappy when Pendulum began to bring rock into their DnB sound, but on "Inertia", the blend is tasteful and the combination of genres is only, in my view, an asset. The heavier guitar backing fits uncannily well with powerful drum beats and charged vocals from Rob Swire, lending a certain 'oomph' to the heavier tracks; a metal-esque finish to what was already rather a heavy tracklist, both in the live instrumentation and in Swire's performances, serves this record particularly well, especially with the star-studded collaborator list, ranging from Joey Valence & Brae, to Bullet For My Valentine, to Hybrid Minds and AWOLNATION. But "Inertia" does demonstrate its own fair share of diversity, too, from the screaming vocals of "Halo" to the liquid DnB take on "Louder Than Words", and even to the alternative cuts like "Come Alive" or "Silent Spinner". Still, diversity cannot be considered an asset for this record. Bassy, heavier cuts end up dominating "Inertia" to a fault, causing the weaker ones to fade away into the background and the stronger ones to get pulled down with them. It takes a couple of listens to actually figure out the tracks that bring pure heat and the tracks that don't quite do the same. "Inertia" also isn't really a step forward for Pendulum - or, for that matter, a step in any direction, really. This is Pendulum coming back after fifteen years to do what they've always done best, and if you think they've switched it up, you'd be wrong - for the most part, this record sits in a state of "Inertia", and much objective criticism of this album relies on this fact. I do question, though: do they really need to switch it up? For a return after so long, wouldn't it be a bit jarring to perform a switch? Besides, this metal-DnB formula the band has going still works wonders - it's intense, it's brainmelting, it's aggressive, it's in-your-face, and it's an absolute blast.

I don't usually criticize an album's rollout - I don't think it's constructive when talking about the album as a piece of art - but including the "Elemental" EP on this album did feel like a bit of a cop-out. Still, though, those tracks are gas, and I'm mostly willing to look past the flaws of this record to appreciate Pendulum's trailblazing style. "Inertia" isnt' quite the deserved followup to their old albums like "Hold Your Colour", but it's undoubtedly still worthy of the Pendulum name.