– Idles – in session for Steve Lamacq – BBC 6 Music – August 8, 2018 – BBC 6 Music –
Bristol punk extravaganza Idles to kick off the week – a session via BBC 6 music, recorded on August 8, 2018.
Idles, stylized as IDLES, are an English punk rock band formed in Bristol in 2012. They released their debut album Brutalism in 2017 to critical acclaim.
Idles have their roots at the Bat-Cave Night Club in Bristol, run by singer Joe Talbot and bassist Adam Devonshire, who met while at university in Exeter, eventually deciding to start a band.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.” The band’s first release was the Welcome EP in 2012. By 2014 the band comprised Talbot, Devonshire, guitarists Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan, and drummer Jon Beavis. They released a second EP, Meat, and Meta, an EP of remixes, in 2015, and then started writing songs for their debut album.
After the 2016 singles “Well Done” and “Divide & Conquer”, the band’s first album, Brutalism, was released in March 2017 to critical acclaim. DIY magazine, 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.” The Line of Best Fit website gave it 9/10, calling Idles “one of the most exciting British bands right now”. It got 8/10 from PopMatters, with Ian King calling it “bracing, caustic, and relentless”. 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.”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.Her death gave Talbot and the band a new focus. They toured to support Brutalism, and supported The Maccabees on the London shows of their farewell tour, as well as supporting the Foo Fighters for the O2 Arena’s 10th Birthday. Followed by several festival appearances throughout Europe, and began working on their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance, which was released on 31 August 2018.Accompanying the release of Joy as an act of resistance, the group created an exhibition in collaboration with HM Electric Gallery in London, which took place 30 and 31 of August 2018.
Often described as post-punk, Talbot rejects the label, saying in June of 2017 “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.”
In the odd event you missed them, here is their session for Steve Lamacq at BBC 6 Music, recorded August 8, 2018.
Crank it up and enjoy.
