Idles | |
---|---|
Background information | |
Origin | Bristol, England |
Genres | |
Years active | 2009–present |
Labels |
|
Members |
|
Past members |
|
Website | idlesband |
Idles are a British rock band formed in Bristol in 2009. [1] The band consists of Adam Devonshire (bass), Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), and Jon Beavis (drums).
After spending eight years honing their live performances, the band released their debut album, Brutalism , in 2017 to critical acclaim, [2] [3] Their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), increased their exposure significantly, [4] and was followed by their first UK number 1 album, Ultra Mono , in 2020. [5] The band released their fourth album, Crawler , in 2021. [6] Tangk , their fifth studio album, was released in 2024.
Welsh frontman Joe Talbot was born in Newport and spent his late teenage years in Devon. [7] Talbot and bassist Adam Devonshire met in sixth form college in Exeter. Talbot and Devonshire then both moved to Bristol where they studied at the St Matthias Campus of the University of the West of England and decided to start a band. [8] According to Talbot, "It took us a long time to get productive because we didn't know what the fuck we were doing at all, we were fucking terrible for a long time." [9] Talbot and Devonshire went on to open the Bat-Cave Night Club in Bristol. [10] Guitarist Mark Bowen moved from Belfast to study in Bristol and met Talbot while on the DJ circuit. [7]
The band's first release was the Welcome EP in 2012. [11] By 2014 the band comprised Talbot, Devonshire, guitarists Mark Bowen and Andy Stewart, and drummer Jon Beavis. [12] They released a second EP, Meat , which saw them embrace a much harder-edged direction from their early work, and Meta , an EP of remixes, in 2015, [13] and then started writing songs for their debut album. [8]
After the 2016 singles "Well Done" [14] and "Divide & Conquer", [15] the band released their first album, Brutalism, in March 2017 to critical acclaim. [8] [16] [17] DIY gave it 4 stars, calling it "An exhilarating escape along frenzied rhythms and powerhouse rhythms with a ferocious commentary for guidance...as vital as it is volatile." [18] The Line of Best Fit website gave it 9/10, calling Idles "one of the most exciting British bands right now". [19] It received an 8/10 from PopMatters , with Ian King calling it "bracing, caustic, and relentless". [20] Uncut gave it a similarly positive review, calling it "A rare rock record with the rage, urgency, wit and shattering of complacency usually found in grime". [21] Talbot's mother died after a long illness while the band was working on the album and is pictured on the cover, along with a sculpture by Talbot and his father. [12] Her death gave Talbot and the band a new focus. [12] They toured to support Brutalism, and supported the Maccabees on the London shows of their farewell tour, [22] as well as supporting the Foo Fighters for the O2 Arena's 10th Birthday.
After several festival appearances throughout Europe, they began working on their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance , which was released on 31 August 2018. [12] [23] [24] Accompanying the release of Joy, the group created an exhibition in collaboration with HM Electric Gallery in London, taking place 30 and 31 August 2018. [25]
In 2019, the band was nominated for Best Breakthrough Act at the 2019 Brit Awards [26] and later won the 2019 Kerrang! Award for Best British Breakthrough Act. [27] That same year, Joy as an Act of Resistance was shortlisted for the 2019 Hyundai Mercury Prize. The band performed "Never Fight a Man with a Perm" at the ceremony on 19 September. In December, they played various shows across the UK, including a packed concert of 10,000 at London's Alexandra Palace.
During the latter stages of their Joy as an Act of Resistance tour in December 2019, Idles performed three new songs which were confirmed to be from their then-unannounced third album, [28] which Talbot confirmed was finished and being mixed in an interview with Zane Lowe that same month.
Following the promotional single "Mr. Motivator" in May 2020, Talbot announced their third album, Ultra Mono , in June, on Steve Lamacq's Radio 6 show. [29] The album was supported by a further four singles; "Grounds", "A Hymn", "Model Village" and "War" in June, July, August and September 2020, respectively. The record also features guest appearances from Jehnny Beth, Warren Ellis, David Yow and Jamie Cullum. [29] In 2020, Idles received two nominations at the Berlin Music Video Awards: the music video "Never Fight a Man With a Perm" received a nomination for Best Animation and "Mercedes Marxist" was nominated for Best Concept. [30]
Ultra Mono was released through Partisan Records on 25 September 2020 to predominantly positive reviews, with Louder Than War awarding it a 10 out of 10 and describing it as "the album of their career". [31] The band followed the release of the album with a remix of "Model Village", featuring Slowthai. [32]
In 2021 the band received the Best Punk Record award for the album at the American Association of Independent Music’s (A2IM) Libera Awards. [33] Also in 2021, the band released three covers: Sharon Van Etten's "Peace Signs" (for Van Etten's commemorative Epic Ten album), [34] Gang of Four's "Damaged Goods" (for the Andy Gill tribute album The Problem Of Leisure) [35] and Metallica's "The God That Failed" (for the charity tribute album The Metallica Blacklist ). [36]
On 28 September 2021, shortly over a year after the release of Ultra Mono, the band released the single "The Beachland Ballroom". Coinciding with the announcement the band announced the release of their fourth studio album, Crawler , to be released later in the autumn. [37] Prior to the album's release, the second single, "Car Crash", was released. The song was written about Talbot's real-life car accident. [38]
Crawler was released on 12 November 2021 through Partisan Records, and it was met with critical acclaim. Matt Mitchell, writing for Paste , gave the album an 8.8 out of 10 saying that Crawler "is magnetic storytelling tempered with newfound patience". [39] Damien Morris, of The Observer , called Crawler a "thrilling, glass-gargling introspection", giving the album a full five out of five stars. [40] Stuart Berman of Pitchfork gave Crawler a 7 out 10, the highest rating the band has received from the website. Berman said that "the Bristol band’s fourth album plays like the dark origin story for how Idles became the preeminent life coaches of modern post-punk." [41]
After being unable to tour for Ultra Mono due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the two albums were promoted in a worldwide tour from late 2021 to late 2022. During the tour, the band released two music videos from Crawler. The first, "When the Lights Come On", premiered on 13 December 2021 with direction from the company, Holding Hands with Horses. [42] On 8 February 2022, the music video for "Crawl!" was released. The video was a claymation video directed by LOOSE and Edie Lawrence. [43]
In April 2022, the band performed at Coachella Music and Arts Festival, with Desert Sun describing their performance as "rambunctious" and "chaotic". [44]
On 18 October 2023 the band released the single "Dancer", featuring backing vocals by James Murphy and Nancy Whang from LCD Soundsystem. They also announced their fifth album Tangk , which was released on 16 February 2024 and co-produced by the team of Kenny Beats, Nigel Godrich and guitarist Mark Bowen. [45] "Dancer" was later named by NME as the 49th best song of 2023. [46]
On 6 December 2023, the band released the follow-up single "Grace", [47] and later released "Gift Horse" [48] on 14 January 2024. On February 14, the band released a music video for "Grace" that used footage from Coldplay's video for "Yellow". Using deep fake technology, Chris Martin is made to appear as though he is singing "Grace" rather than "Yellow". The idea for the video reportedly came to Talbot in a dream, and was done with not only Martin's approval but his cooperation – filming himself singing the song in order to train the AI to make it appear more realistic. [49]
On 17 April 2024, the band released a music video for "Pop Pop Pop" while on a worldwide tour that started in February 2024. [50] The music video was shot on location in Iceland.
On Friday 28th June 2024 Idles played at Glastonbury where they were the final act performing on the 'Other Stage'. At one point during the performance they were joined on stage by American rapper Danny Brown.
Idles' music has been described as punk rock, [51] [52] [53] post-punk, [54] [55] hardcore punk, [56] post-hardcore, [57] and art rock. [58] Talbot rejected the punk label; [59] in 2017, he said: "We're not a post punk band. I guess we have that motorik, engine-like drive in the rhythm section that some post punk bands have, but we have plenty of songs that aren't like that at all." [12]
Current
Former
Touring
Year | Award | Award category | Nominee | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2018 | Q Awards | Best Breakthrough Act | Idles | Won | [62] |
Best Album | Joy as an Act of Resistance | Nominated | |||
2019 | Mercury Prize | Nominated | [63] | ||
Ivor Novello Awards | Album Award | Won | [64] | ||
Brit Awards | British Breakthrough Act | Idles | Nominated | [26] | |
Kerrang! Awards | Best British Breakthrough | Won | [27] | ||
2020 | Libera Awards | Best Live Act | Won | [65] | |
NME Awards | Best British Band | Nominated | [66] | ||
Best Band in the World | Nominated | ||||
UK Music Video Awards | Best Rock Video – UK | "War" | Won | [67] | |
Best Cinematography in a Video | Nominated | ||||
Best Editing in a Video | Nominated | ||||
2021 | Libera Awards | Best Punk Record | Ultra Mono | Won | [68] |
Best Creative Packaging | Nominated | ||||
2022 | NME Awards | Best Live Act | Idles | Nominated | [69] |
AIM Independent Music Awards | Best Live Performer | Nominated | [70] | ||
Libera Awards | Best Rock Record | Crawler | Won | [71] | |
Video of the Year | "Car Crash" | Nominated | |||
UK Music Video Awards | Best Rock Video - UK | "Crawl!" | Nominated | [72] | |
Best Animation in a Video | Nominated | ||||
2023 | Grammy Awards | Best Rock Performance | Nominated | [73] | |
Best Rock Album | Crawler | Nominated | |||
Libera Awards | Best Live/Livestream Act | Live on From the Basement | Nominated | [74] |
Green Day is an American rock band formed in Rodeo, California in 1987 by lead vocalist and guitarist Billie Joe Armstrong and bassist and backing vocalist Mike Dirnt, with drummer Tré Cool joining in 1990. In 1994, their major-label debut Dookie, released through Reprise Records, became a breakout success and eventually shipped over 10 million copies in the U.S. Alongside fellow California punk bands Bad Religion, the Offspring, Rancid, NOFX, Pennywise and Social Distortion, Green Day is credited with popularizing mainstream interest in punk rock in the U.S.
Angel Olsen is an American singer-songwriter from St. Louis, Missouri who lives in Asheville, North Carolina.
Frank Carter and the Rattlesnakes are an English punk rock band formed in 2015 by frontman Frank Carter with guitarist Dean Richardson. Famed for their raucous live shows, the band released their debut album Blossom in 2015, and the follow-ups Modern Ruin in 2017 and End of Suffering in 2019. Their fourth album, Sticky, was released in October 2021. A fifth, Dark Rainbow, was released in January 2024.
Waterparks is an American pop rock band formed in Houston, Texas in 2011. The group currently consists of lead vocalist and rhythm guitarist Awsten Knight, backing vocalist and lead guitarist Geoff Wigington, and backing vocalist and drummer Otto Wood.
Jehnny Beth is a French musician and actress originally from Poitiers and based in London, England since 2006. She came to notability within Europe as one half of the indie rock duo John & Jehn, and globally as frontwoman of the English post-punk band Savages. Her debut solo album To Love Is to Live was released to critical acclaim in June 2020. She has also collaborated with other artists such as Trentemøller, Julian Casablancas, Tindersticks, Gorillaz, Noel Gallagher, Romy Madley Croft of the xx, Idles and Bobby Gillespie of Primal Scream. In 2021, she released a duet album with Gillespie titled Utopian Ashes which received favourable reviews.
Pale Waves are an English rock band from Manchester, formed in 2014. It was founded originally as Creek when lead singer and guitarist Heather Baron-Gracie met drummer Ciara Doran while attending university in Manchester. The other members are guitarist Hugo Silvani and bassist Charlie Wood, completing the lineup. Pale Waves's early work is often described as 80s-inspired indie rock or synth-pop; their second and third albums, however, owe more to the pop-punk genre.
Brutalism is the debut studio album by British rock band Idles, released in March 2017.
Joy as an Act of Resistance is the second studio album by British rock band Idles, released on 31 August 2018 by Partisan Records. Following the success of their debut album Brutalism, the band started recording new material for their next album. Taking inspiration from the similarly titled 2008 poem by Toi Derricotte, Joy as an Act of Resistance tells stories from Joe Talbot's troubled past and lyrics that deal with toxic masculinity, love, self-love, immigration, Brexit, and class. The album garnered acclaim from critics upon release. Joy as an Act of Resistance peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned two official singles: "Danny Nedelko" and "Never Fight a Man with a Perm". To promote the record, the band toured across Japan, North America, and Europe.
Meat is the second extended play by British rock band Idles. The extended play was released on 30 October 2015. The three-year gap between the EP and the previous release Welcome is, to date, the longest gap between two releases by the band.
"Never Fight a Man with a Perm" is a song by British rock band Idles. It is the fifth single from their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance. The track was released as a single for streaming on 2 September 2018 through the band's YouTube channel.
Fontaines D.C. are an Irish post-punk band formed in Dublin in 2017. The band consists of Grian Chatten (vocals), Carlos O'Connell (guitar), Conor Curley (guitar), Conor Deegan III (bass), and Tom Coll (drums).
Black Midi were an English rock band from London, formed in 2017. Their most recent line-up consisted of Geordie Greep, Cameron Picton and Morgan Simpson (drums). Between 2017 and 2020, the band also included guitarist Matt Kwasniewski-Kelvin. Following his departure, the trio were frequently joined by Seth Evans and Kaidi Akinnibi (saxophone) both in the studio and during live performances. Their name is derived from the Japanese electronic music genre black MIDI, though their own music has no relation to it, instead incorporating styles such as math rock, progressive rock, post-punk, and avant-jazz.
Idles are a British-Irish rock band. Formed in Bristol in 2009, the band consists of Joe Talbot (vocals), Mark Bowen (guitar), Lee Kiernan (guitar), Adam Devonshire (bass) and Jon Beavis (drums). The band released five extended plays before they released their debut album, Brutalism in 2017. Brutalism was met to critical acclaim, as was their second, third and fourth studio albums, Joy as an Act of Resistance in 2018, Ultra Mono in 2020, and Crawler in 2021. The band's fifth studio album, Tangk, was released on 16 February 2024.
Joseph Talbot is a British singer and songwriter. He has been the vocalist for British rock band Idles since their inception in 2009.
Ultra Mono is the third studio album by British rock band Idles, released on 25 September 2020 by Partisan Records. Following on from their previous album Joy as an Act of Resistance, the album further explores themes established in the band's previous works such as critique of capitalism, revolution, class struggle, mental health and toxic masculinity, as well as the positive and negative aspects of the band's newfound fame.
Dry Cleaning are an English post-punk band who formed in South London in 2017. The band is composed of vocalist Florence Shaw, guitarist Tom Dowse, bassist Lewis Maynard and drummer Nick Buxton. They are noted for their use of spoken word primarily in lieu of sung vocals, as well as their unconventional lyrics. Their musical style has been compared to Wire, Magazine and Joy Division. They have been described as "Annette Peacock fronting the Fall or PiL or Siouxsie and the Banshees".
Crawler is the fourth album by British rock band Idles, released on 12 November 2021.
Yard Act are a British rock band from Leeds, West Yorkshire, composed of James Smith, Ryan Needham (bass), Sam Shipstone (guitar) and Jay Russell (drums). Their debut album, The Overload, was released on 21 January 2022 and debuted at No. 2 on the UK Albums Chart. They released their second album, Where's My Utopia?, on 1 March 2024.
"Dancer" is a song by the British rock band Idles, released on October 18, 2023 as the lead single from their album Tangk, released in February 2024. It was their first new music since their 2021 album Crawler, and it features backing vocals from James Murphy and Nancy Whang of LCD Soundsystem.