IDLES release new single 'Mr. Motivator' - listen now

Bristol's torch bearing punks return with pummelling positivity, a trademark, socially conscious sign of things to come from album No.3.

Posted: 19 May 2020 Words: Tom Curtis-Horsfall Photos: Dan Kendall

All week IDLES have been teasing home workout tutorials with bearded bassist Dev, leaving us (well, maybe just me) with the expectation that they were merely mucking in with the communal spirit of lockdown larks.

Well, it turns out they've unveiled the first single from their next, so far unnamed, and highly anticipated follow-up to 2018's lauded Joy as an Act of Resistance, called 'Mr. Motivator'.

The track's pummelling positivity is infectious - complete with self-directed homemade workout video - signalling the direction IDLES intend to take with their upcoming third album; frontman Joe Talbot's socially conscious world-building and acerbic growl remain at the fore, yet they've fine-tuned the instrumentation to help batter their point home.

According to Talbot, IDLES wanted to "not only encapsulate the album's sentiment, but to encourage our audience to dance like no one is watching and plough through these dark times with a two tonne machete of a song" with 'Mr.Motivator'.

2019 was no doubt a landmark year for the torch bearers of Bristol's contemporary music scene, with a widely praised set at Glastonbury Festival, an unprecedented sell-out show at London's Alexandra Palace, a BRITS Award nomination, and winning the Ivor Novello award for best album to boot. Let's see if they'll capitalise on their exponential upward trajectory with album No.3.

To hear more from IDLES, click here.