Bristol’s fury IDLES released their fourth, praised LP CRAWLER last November.
A week ago they started their North American tour and stopped at the studio
of the Stephen Colbert’s Late Show for a brawny version of the LP’s trackCRAWL.
IDLES – De Zwerver, Leffinge, Belgium – 2 November 2018
Here’s the original review…
Soon, at the end of the year, Bristol‘s steamrollin’ punks IDLES will be in countless 2018
lists in two categories: best album and best live act. Second longplayer JOY AS AN ACT
OF RESISTANCE catapulted the band into the highest regions of alternative music. It’s an awesome red-hot-blooded record capable of bringing your speakers down, but also, and actually, most of all, this socially committed combo look, act and play like HUMANS – very exciting ones, that is – they write about ALL HUMANS and they do it for us, HUMANS.
Read the gripping interview NME had a couple of months ago with blazing frontman Joe Talbot right hereand you’ll learn that this dynamite squad has a very BIG HONEST HEART!
Blitzkrieg electricity
And then there are their smashing live shows. On a podium, this down-to-earth quintet becomes a blitzkrieg machine blowing your minds unstoppably with emotional force and relentless panache. Yesterday was my fourth live encounter. Another oh-yeah-fucking-hell experience. Explosive every-nerve-in-his-body-is-alive-and-kicking frontman Joe Talbot leads the hair-raising troops but all of his remarkable teammates assist him brilliantly to make the crowd go totally gaga.
Preparing for a deafening Black Sabbath-like finale
Everybody’s screaming, yelling, jumping, cheering, clapping, and sweating with the greater part of the crazed crowd involved in the boiling mosh-pit in the middle of the fired-up venue and at one point many of us, including myself, hit the stage to hop around madly like a bunch of wild kids. Yes, folks, this is what ENTERTAINMENT is all about. Having the time of your life on a night out and returning home, voiceless, with a large smile on your face. Great bands make people feel BLOODY HAPPY! This hot clan is not only great, right now, right here IDLES id the best fucking band on this troubled planet…
If you never heard of them, check this cooking BBC TV performance and
you’ll realize why I’m in a euphoric state during and after an Idles gig…
Three years ago Bristol‘s red-boiling punk gang IDLES made a spectacular appearance
on the British TV show ‘Later… with Jools Holland’ playing a fiery version of ‘Danny Nedelko‘ from their second LP.
At one point cameramen had no clue what was going on.
Brilliant! Watch the tumultuous performance here…
You can/could find Bristol punk gunslingersIdles everywhere this past year.
On tribute albums, on covers albums, on collaborative tracks (like the one with Tom Morello) and of course on their own 4th LP Crawler. Same story for lady of
the night St. Vincent.
So I think they met somewhere in between while being busy
for others and decided to have some fun together too.
Last year an IDLES documentary hit screens all over Europe.
DON’T GO GENTLE: A FILM ABOUT IDLES is a docu about finding strength in
vulnerability. It journeys through IDLES determination, friendship, and adversity
as they fight for a place in a divided socio-political environment, unexpectedly
inspiring and unifying an international community along the way.
BBC Film said: “Entertaining & thought-provoking study of modern manhood!” NME said: “Touching proof that bands can still change your life.”
The film has now been added to The Coda Collection, A video channel
screening hundreds of concerts, documentaries, and episodic series in
music. More info here. The film is also available on DVD.
The trailer
CRAWLER
The newest album (one of the best of 2021)
New album: CRAWLER Release: 12 November 2021 Order-info: here
Lots of artists had a lot of time on their hands as tours were canceled during the COVID-19 pandemic and started writing/producing new music. So did Bristol punks Idles. The new LP is a follow-up to Ultra Mono, their first No 1 album in the UK, released 12 months ago.
Lead single: THE BEACHLAND BALLROOM
“An honest-to-goodness soul song named after the iconic Ohio venue.”
Expect the slower side of Idles with hefty eruptions now
and then and frontman Joe Talbot‘s blood cooking…
We already focused our ears on lead single The Beachland Ballroom
some weeks ago and here comes a personal Joe Talbot song about his
near-death experience following a severe car crash.
“It’s the horrific, comedown hangover – waking up in the morning and realising
the smashes, like, what the fuck am I doing with my life?” the band’s frontman
explained.
The accompanying video clip contains fragments of…
car crashes from old films, edited together as one.
Affecting singer/songwriter SHARON VAN ETTEN releases epic TEN soon. A double longplayer celebrating the 10th
anniversary of her sophomore album.
The new double LP features, besides the original album, notable artists
covering one of tracks. Among the contributors are Fiona Apple, Lucinda
Williams, Big Red Machine, and more. The first shared taster was A Crime
performed by Big Red Machine.
A very surprising name on the list are UK punks IDLES
turning PIECE SIGNS upside down and it works damn well.