Miscreants Lacking Illumination: A Description
Cracking the Code on Billy Idol's Aging Punk Rock Spirit
Veteran English punk rocker Billy Idol opted to celebrate his 70th birthday with a new album, marking a return after more than a decade-long hiatus. But, as music critic Igor Gavrilov explains, Billy Idol's comeback in 2025 wasn't as triumphant as expected.
Starting out in Generation X in the late 70s, Idol fit snugly within the first wave of British punk. The musicians in Generation X weren't as politically engaged as The Clash, nor were they as self-destructive as the Sex Pistols, but they had their unique vibe. Solo career or not, Billy Idol experimented with several trends of the 80s-90s - synth-pop, rockabilly, New Wave, glam metal, electronics. He scored two iconic hits in the process, which still provide financial backing. In recent years, he released two impressive EPs, "The Roadside" (2021) and "The Cage" (2022), making a four-song format ideal for the forever-punk rocker.
However, Billy Idol wanted more, so he ventured back into recording full-fledged albums, and the resulting output is the 2025 Dream Into It. Gavrilov reasons that promoting each EP demanded significant effort and time, which Idol decided to expend on a complete album instead. But the outcome was disappointing; the new album comprises completely mediocre tracks. Billy Idol's artistic grip wasn't even enough to elevate the modest nine tracks of "Dream Into It."
The opening song of the album starts on a cloudless note of optimism, an unexpected sentiment for Idol, known for powerful album starts with deafening guitar riffs. Dream Into It was conceived as an autobiography, recounting Idol's journey from a child to a king. The beginning reflects upon if the author lived his life correctly. But Idol chose to discuss his relocation to the U.S., his meteoric rise to fame, his battle with drug addiction, and his liberation from it. The album opens with the line, "Records spin, like the soundtrack to my sins."
A duet with Canadian singer Avril Lavigne, "77," was released as a single, although many consider it an awkward fit for Idol. Lavigne was the emblem of teen pop-punk in the early 2000s, which isn't the style that old fans of Billy Idol would associate with him.
The album features two more female voices - Billy Idol sang a rather bland track "Wildside" with Joan Jett from their 70s battles, and his duet with Alison Mosshart was more interesting. Mosshart performed pop-punk in her youth, although her groups The Kills and Dead Weather are synonymous with the cutting edge of 2000s music. This is the genre that Billy Idol seems to have missed during his immersion in the punk-leather-jacket image. Therefore, if "77" feels uncomfortable for Billy Idol, who deserves more inventive material, then "John Wayne" is uncomfortable for Alison Mosshart, who usually collaborates with more relevant artists. "John Wayne" is a classic pop-hard ballad, but it's the most memorable song on the album.
The vocalists have impressive biographies, but the musicians who provide instrumental backing deserve equal recognition. Josh Freese, a talented session musician, handled drums, replacing the late Taylor Hawkins in Foo Fighters. Chris Chaney, a member of AC/DC after the breakup of Jane's Addiction, played bass. Long-time collaborator Steve Stevens, Billy Idol's trusted partner, recorded the guitar parts. However, it seems that Stevens' guitar work lacks the usual inventive edge on classic Idol albums, appearing half-hearted.
In 2023, Billy Idol warmed hearts by touring with Generation Sex, a cover band he assembled with Sex Pistols members. The punk community expected a follow-up, but instead, Billy Idol released an autobiographical album that lacked innovation and daring. In 2025, fans and critics anticipated a compelling comeback, but they received an album that felt disconnected from Idol's iconic 80s energy, mimicking the "roller coaster of solitude" described in the lyrics of the title track. Overall, Dream Into It failed to meet the expectations set by earlier releases, with critics generally agreeing that it lacked boldness and experimentation.
Billy Idol's first foray into a full-fledged album in a decade, released in 2025 as 'Dream Into It', seems to have missed the usual spark that marks his iconic 80s music.
The album, conceived as an autobiography, seemingly veered away from the usual shortlist of genres Idol is known to experiment with, such as punk rock, synth-pop, or glam metal.
Given Billy Idol's past collaborations with noted musicians like Taylor Hawkins and Steve Stevens, the lackluster guitar work on 'Dream Into It' left fans and critics questioning the usual inventive edge present in his early works.
In the 1970s battleground of punk rock, Idol shared the stage with the likes of Joan Jett. However, their duet on 'Dream Into It', titled 'Wildside', feels disconnected from both their usual style and the usual energy Idol exhibits in his music.
