When IDLES' first album, Brutalism, dropped in 2017, UK five-piece were still a relatively underground group. Now, coming into the release of their third LP, the group couldn't have more buzz about them.
2018's Joy As An Act Of Resistance earned the band a slew of praise, a legion of new fans and even a Mercury Prize nomination.
What follows is Ultra Mono - an album that commands you to find your best self through love, acceptance, empathy and compassion.
It could be their defining work.
What they're saying...
The Music's Jessica Dale caught up with IDLES frontman Joe Talbot to chat about the album. Check out excerpts below and read the full feature here.
On how Ultra Mono came to be
"...It was written around a time when I felt very isolated, and alone, and defensive, and scared. And we were starting a new album, and I was just obsessing over the critics... and our growing audience, instead of focusing on the art, and focusing on myself. So I use the album and its title as a way of moving forward existentially, which is to just be."
On empathy
“Empathy is something you learn through vulnerability. And to have the confidence to do that you need to first identify yourself, love yourself, and understand yourself. And that comes with reflection, and listening to the rhythms of your behaviour, the rhythms of your feelings and emotions, and how your actions often echo those things..."
On what their next album might look like
“I'm not going to make another album like this. I'm done. I don't need to do it. Ultra Mono is apex me in terms of that style of writing, and I want to change how I write and I want to expand, but with Ultra Mono it was about being as me as possible, as ultra me as possible."
Listen to Ultra Mono below.
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