A few days ago marked one year since Idles released their latest album, 2020’s Ultra Mono. The band apparently got back into the studio quickly after dropping the album, because now they have a new LP ready to go: Today, Idles announced Crawler, which is set for release on November 12.
Accompanying the announcement is the soulful single “The Beachland Ballroom,” of which Joe Talbot says:
“It’s the most important song on the album, really. There’s so many bands that go through the small rooms and dream of making it into the big rooms. Being able to write a soul tune like this made me go, f*ck — we’re at a place where we’re actually allowed to go to these big rooms and be creative and not just go through the motions and really appreciate what we’ve got. The song is sort of an allegory of feeling lost and getting through it. It’s one that I really love singing.”
Bowen adds, “I didn’t know Joe could sing like that. He’s been trying to write ‘Be My Baby’ since the very beginning, but he didn’t want to be the punk guy wearing the Motown clothes. He wanted it to feel natural, and this song is.”
Press materials also note that on the album, “the group brings to life vivid stories of trauma, addiction and recovery with its most soul-stirring music to date. […] There are also fresh textures and experiments that push Idles into thrilling new territory”
Listen to “The Beachland Ballroom” above, and below, find the Crawler art and tracklist. Their previously announced North American tour also starts soon, so find those dates here.
1. “MTT 420 RR”
2. “The Wheel”
3. “When the Lights Come On”
4. “Car Crash”
5. “The New Sensation”
6. “Stockholm Syndrome”
7. “The Beachland Ballroom”
8. “Crawl!”
9. “Meds”
10. “Kelechi”
11. “Progress”
12. “Wizz”
13. “King Snake”
14. “The End”
Crawler is out 11/12 via Partisan Records. Pre-order it here.