Whatever you do, do not refer to IDLES, the British, uh, band — led by Joe Talbot — as a punk rock band.
Despite being punk rock, the band rejects the label. And don’t call them "post-punk" either because they don’t like that. In fact, we’re not sure they want to be called anything other than IDLES, the band that takes on everything from rape culture (“Sexual violence doesn’t start and end with rape/ It starts in our books and behind our school gates,” Talbot shouts on 2017’s "Mother") and toxic masculinity (“I’m a real boy, boy, and I cry/ I love myself and I want to try/ This is why you never see your father cry,” he wails on 2018’s "Samaritans") and, on last year’s release Ultra Mono, fictional villages, like on "Model Village," which finds Talbot dismantling fascism, racism, and alarmism.
Evidenced by the first taste of their forthcoming fourth record, Crawler, due out on Nov. 12, it looks like IDLES, the non-punk punk rock band, is getting downright soulful. On "The Beachland Ballroom," a tribute to artists who pay their dues playing bars and small venues with the hopes of one day playing a large room or arena, Talbot sings. Maybe he’ll change his tune on the whole punk thing.
Oh, and Talbot will be DJing at Detroit's El Club following IDLES performance.
Doors open at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9 at Saint Andrew’sHall, 431 E. Congress St., Detroit; 313-961-8961; saintandrewsdetroit.com. Tickets are $25.
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