About IDLES
Idles are a British punk rock band formed in Bristol in 2009. The band consists of Adam Devonshire , Joe Talbot , Mark Bowen , Lee Kiernan , and Jon Beavis .
After spending eight years honing their live performances, the band released their debut album, Brutalism, in 2017 to critical acclaim. Their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance , increased their exposure significantly, and was followed by their first UK number one album, Ultra Mono, in 2020. The band released their fourth album, Crawler, in 2021. Tangk, their fifth studio album, was released in 2024 and became the band's second to reach number one in the UK.
Welsh frontman Joe Talbot was born in Newport and spent his late teenage years in Devon. 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. 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." Talbot and Devonshire went on to open the Bat-Cave Night Club in Bristol. Guitarist Mark Bowen moved from Belfast to study in Bristol and met Talbot while on the DJ circuit.
The band's first release was the Welcome EP in 2012. By 2014 the band comprised Talbot, Devonshire, guitarists Mark Bowen and Andy Stewart, and drummer Jon Beavis. 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, and then started writing songs for their debut album. Also in 2015, guitarist Andy Stewart was replaced by Lee Kiernan.
After the 2016 singles "Well Done" and "Divide & Conquer", the band released their first album, Brutalism, in March 2017 to critical acclaim. 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." The Line of Best Fit website gave it 9/10, calling Idles "one of the most exciting British bands right now". It received an 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.
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. 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.
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