IDLES
IDLES Break the Monotony in ‘Stockholm Syndrome’ Video
Over the weekend, IDLES played on one of the main stages at Lollapalooza, playing a typically roaring set. Today, the British post-punk band shared a new video for “Stockholm Syndrome.”It features homemade masks, dancers and references to Gus Van Sant’s polarizing 2003 film Gerry. [embedded content][embedded content] “Stockholm Syndrome” starts with a reverb-heavy, driving bass line before descending into hardcore, surf-rock-style madness. Over the propulsive instrumentals, lead singer Joe Talbot roars deeply abstract lyrics about power and morality. The video for “Stockholm Syndrome” matches the ambiguity of the meaning behind these lyrics. “The initial idea of the video was to try and visualise the monotony hell of having to work to survive and how the ‘machine’ eventually engulfs you an...
Watch IDLES Probe the Depths of Addiction on ‘Colbert’
Filling in on short notice for Spoon, who were forced to cancel due to COVID-19 exposure, IDLES made their debut appearance on CBS’ “The Late Show With Stephen Colbert” last night (April 14) with a powerful performance of “Crawl!” from their latest Partisan album, CRAWLER. The performance was taped during a February concert at Glasgow’s Barrowlands and captures IDLES’ signature intensity, with frontman Joe Talbot prowling the stage with his eyes closed and growling out lyrics inspired by his own struggles with addiction. “It’s a good anthem for me to discuss with people who aren’t on the other side or who aren’t sober,” Talbot said of the song when CRAWLER was announced last year. “You’re not the best version of you and you need to hold yourself accountable for your addictio...
Exit Interview: IDLES’ Joe Talbot on Crawler, Independent Venues, and Daddy Daycare in 2021
Joe Talbot has two more things he wants to accomplish before the end of 2021: Start working on IDLES‘ fifth album and win a bar fight. “Those two things. That’s it,” he says forcefully with a clap. Sitting on a cozy-looking couch, bearing a white, lightly plaid button-up shirt and thick-framed reading glasses in his Bristol home during our Zoom call, Talbot was taking some much-needed rest with his family in what’s left of the turbulent year of 2021. “Just living calmly … getting ready for the storm that is 2022.” The post-post-post-punkers—or something of that nature—wrote and released their stunning, thrashing, widely acclaimed fourth record Crawler, which was produced by Kenny Beats. In recent months, IDLES performed an exuberant string of shows throughout the U.S., bathed in ...
St. Vincent and IDLES Team for ‘Pay Your Way In Pain’ Remix
St. Vincent shared a new version of “Pay Your Way In Pain” which was remixed by none other than and the post-punkers IDLES. The song was originally off of the Grammy-nominated musician’s Daddy’s Home album. The sinister, techno-twist of “Pay Your Way In Pain” heavily emphasizes the war-like energy and gritty mechanics of IDLES, while maintaining St. Vincent’s and the original track’s electro groove. The new and old are honestly two completely different tracks, for two completely different moods, yet of the same mother—St. Vincent. “What I really enjoy about the Daddy’s Home album is using this camp energy in a really violent way,” Mark Bowen of IDLES said in a statement. “This embracing of the nostalgic even the kitsch but using it to make progressive futuristic music. It reminde...
IDLES Announces CRAWLER, Share First Single ‘The Beachland Ballroom’
A year after releasing Ultra Mono, IDLES are back with their fourth record CRAWLER and dropped its first single “The Beachland Ballroom.” CRAWLER is set to arrive on November 12 on Partisan Records. The 14-track record was co-produced by Kenny Beats and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen. The single is named after the Cleveland venue that we’ve highlighted before, and the video is a raw, up-close shot of frontman Joe Talbot screaming along with the thrash poundings of the instruments. Sweaty and nearly bloody-eyed, Talbot leaves us with a dripping performance as if a prisoner persuading to be set free. “It’s the most important song on the album, really,” Talbot said in a statement. “There’s so many bands that go through the small rooms and dream of making it into the big rooms. Being able to ...
Rina Sawayama Gives ‘Enter Sandman’ an Electro-Pop Makeover
Rina Sawayama is one of the latest singers to unveil her contribution in honor of Metallica’s The Blacklist Album compilation. The pop-R&B singer infused the metal band’s “Enter Sandman” with her signature Nineties-pop flair. Earlier this month, Weezer tackled the song as well. The British rock band IDLES also released a new Metallica cover for the project: a passionate, alt-rock rendition of “The God That Failed,” with trippy visuals in the accompanying video. The band transmits a similar kind of raw intensity as Metallica, just with some more punk and grunge vibes added to the pot. The massive cover collection of The Black Album, celebrating the album’s 30th anniversary, arrives on September 10. The artist roster is vast and eclectic, with more than 50 artists including We...
Sharon Van Etten Shares IDLES’ Cover of ‘Peace Signs’ From Upcoming epic Ten Album
After announcing last week that she’d be releasing epic Ten (a double anniversary album featuring both the original and cover versions of epic) Sharon Van Etten has now unveiled the second of the cover songs. IDLES’ take on “Peace Signs” follows Big Red Machine’s version of “A Crime” that released with last week’s announcement, while tracks from artists like Lucinda Williams, Courtney Barnett, and Fiona Apple are still to come. On her Instagram, Van Etten explained the origins of her friendship with IDLES. <!– // Brid Player Singles. var _bp = _bp||[]; _bp.push({ “div”: “Brid_10143537”, “obj”: {“id”:”25115″,”width”:”480″,”height”:”270″,”playlistR...
Sharon Van Etten to Release epic Anniversary Edition Featuring Fiona Apple, Lucinda Williams, IDLES and Courtney Barnett
Sharon Van Etten’s epic was one of the best albums of the 2010s. Last year, the album turned 10 and to celebrate its (now) 11th anniversary, the set is getting a pretty great tribute. epic Ten will be released as a double anniversary album, with one part featuring the original and the other containing an all-star cast of artists covering it. Those artists include Fiona Apple, Lucinda Williams, Courtney Barnett with Vagabon, Big Red Machine (Aaron Dessner of the National and Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon), IDLES, Shamir and St. Panther. Each artist was tapped by Van Etten to perform a song from the album. Moving forward, every Thursday, Van Etten will unveil another cover from the collection. Listen to “A Crime” by Big Red Machine below. [embedded content] “Sharon is one of m...
IDLES Shoot for Less Noise, More Volume on New Record
Over 10,000 fans bought a ticket for the three virtual sets IDLES dove into at Abbey Road Studios – the same weekend they were billed to showcase at the Reading and Leeds festivals. Unsure of what a livestreamed production would bring, the band simply treated it as they would any other performance: frenzied, loud, and imperfectly perfect. 10,000 sets of eyes watched through the glow of whatever screen they were peering into. Somehow IDLES delivered in these unideal conditions, with their fans happy to escape a quarantine-fueled fog — if only for a moment. “I didn’t miss the heckling, that’s for sure,” frontman Joe Talbot said with an unassuming chuckle following the Abbey Road Sessions, where they showcased tunes off of their impending Ultra Mono album (out on Sept. 25). And while the band...
Watch IDLES Cover the Beatles, the Strokes and More
IDLES have never been afraid to do things their own way, and the British rockers’ unique spin on classics by bands like the Beatles and the Strokes is a perfect example. The two videos, along with a handful of others, were filmed while the group was recording at the legendary Abbey Road and provide a nice balance to the handful of tracks they’ve already released from the upcoming Ultra Mono (out Sept. 25 via Partisan Records). Of course — as with anything IDLES does — the covers are significantly different than their original versions. Fans of the original bands expecting to hear a familiar version of “Reptilia” or “Helter Skelter” may be sorely disappointed, but there’s no denying the creativity flowing through the new takes on them. For those looking for more IDLES origina...
IDLES Team With Michel Gondry for ‘Model Village’ Video
IDLES and Michel Gondry? You better believe it. Gondry, in case you forgot, has directed both videos (Daft Punk, Radiohead, The White Stripes) and films (including the mind-bending, Oscar-winning Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind). So it’s fitting that he’d team up with the British rockers to produce a surreal clip for their latest single, “Model Village.” The dance-punk tune tackles small-town thinking. “I hated growing up in a city that was really a town that was really a fishbowl. I left as soon as I could, only to realize the fishbowl didn’t exist…just the fish, and they’re everywhere,” IDLES singer Joe Talbot said in a statement. “Michel’s work is handmade and it’s human and that’s something that our society pushes agains...
