IDLES – The Bristol punk band for the age of social collapse and Kanye West
'Our aim isn't to start a revolution, but we talk about politics in the pub, so it'd be weird if we didn't sing about it'
“There’s a safe umbrella around music at the moment,” sighs Idles lead singer Joe Talbot, taking a sip from his lime and soda. We sit listening to the generic sugary pop song in silence for a couple of seconds before he continues. “That’s how it is I suppose, when there’s not a lot of money ticking over, it’s often only the top branch that get heard.”
The Rose and Crown feels like a bit of an anomaly in London Bridge these days. One of the areas last old boozers, its white-lined pool table and flat screens showing the bowls are at odds with the stone-baked pizza and craft beers they sell over the road. Yet, Idles seem at home here. This interview feels a bit like a typical conversation you could eavesdrop on in any pub. Joe Talbot is forthright and articulate, talking passionately about music, politics and his home in Bristol. His mate and lead guitarist Mark Bowen is slightly quieter, jumping in to embellish a story or drop a clever zinger. If you didn’t know they were both in a band, you’d think they were two good friends chatting shit.
“People often say we’re an angry band. We are, but more as individuals,” says Talbot when I ask the pair about their last single, ‘Well Done’. “I’ve got a bad temper; Bowen can be a bit fiery and we’re all hungover a lot. We can all be shitty people, but we’re also functioning adults who talk and think about this kind of stuff”.
‘Well Done’ came out late last year with a surprisingly brutal swipe at Mary Berry, Saturday evening TV and middle-class sanctimony. The lyrics, though well observed and intensely vicious, weren’t nearly as jarring as the band’s new stripped-down sound. The hammering drums and slash-throat guitars were a far cry from the brooding indie rock the five-piece were once renowned for.