Call him a punk-pop icon, but
Billy Idol
is also a rock journeyman on 2025's introspective yet still swaggeringly fun
Dream into It
. Produced by
Tommy English
, the singer's ninth studio album moves deftly between blisteringly hooky pop-punk anthems and more atmospheric midtempo cuts, all of which nicely evoke the genre-crossing dance-rock of
Idol
's best work. As with all of his albums since his early-2000s renaissance, it also features plenty of sonic riffage from his longtime collaborator, guitarist
Steve Stevens
.
English
-- who has worked with a stylistically varied mix of artists, including
BØRNS
,
Foster the People
, and
blink-182
-- brings a warmth to the production, kicking up the guitars when needed, but also adding in subtle synth and drum machine textures that smartly evoke an '80s pop atmosphere. This is especially true on the title track, which has an illusory, romantic quality, as if
's life is bending in upon itself as he ruminates on what has come and gone. There's a feeling of returning to the scene of the crime and reliving past glories, as well as failures, on
. It's a sentiment he digs into on the propulsive "Too Much Fun," detailing his infamously hard-living lifestyle that derailed his career. It's also redolent on "77," his exuberant duet with
Avril Lavigne
in which he pays homage to his heady, rebellious punk youth as the singer with
Generation X
, kicking around with all the other "punks and skins and teddy boys." Other nicely curated guests show up, including
the Kills
' singer
Alison Mosshart
on "John Wayne" and the indomitable
Joan Jett
, who brings her own throaty gravitas to "Wildside." Vocally,
is still a potent entity, even as his baritone has been scuffed down into a hushed, tweedy croon. Yet he can still summon his defiant yawp, as on "Still Dancing," where he transfigures his classic song "Rebel Yell" into an anthem for punk survivors. With
underscores his legacy as one of the original pop-punk prophets, a kid with spiky, peroxide-blonde hair who saw the future of punk and lived to tell the tale. ~ Matt Collar