IDLES

Idles frontman Joe Talbot is eyeballing the curiously-gathered onlookers inside the tiny top floor room of Wakefield's Unity Works. He and his band are on another toilet circuit of the UK, but this time things are a little different. There's a momentum surrounding Idles that is swiftly gathering pace and it's been a long time coming. The Bristol quintet's stunning debut album 'Brutalism' has finally landed into our lives and quite bluntly, it pisses all over, well, just about everything else currently. 'Brutalism' is honest, intense, fun, captivating, often ridiculous and necessary as hell right now. Everything that's getting your goat in these uncharted times we find ourselves in, is addressed in a manner even the furious Sleaford Mods must surely applaud.

Barring the album's closing slower-paced track 'Slow Savage' and the sadly missing 'Rachel Khoo', their live set is pretty much the rest of Brutalism, with bells on. The infectiously catchy, pot-shot slinging of 'Well Done' stirs up a frenzy in the crowd and even a minor vocal false start on the punk-as-you-like 'Stendhal Syndrome' only intensifies the rest of the song. Lightning fast drums clatter with a heavy Future Of The Left-esque bass and razor-sharp guitars. Whether Talbot is purposefully entertaining himself as well as us is not in question. Carefree verbal swipes at bandmates and a tongue-lashing for the likes of Catfish And The Bottlemen abound. (Fair play). Don't be fooled by the wit and hijinks that pour freely from this band however, they have a hell of a lot to say about our current state of affairs and Talbot rightly so, is mad as hell. Rather than just goofing around, their strong sense of playfulness and ability to not take things too seriously only masks an intensity of a band that are ready to take on the pretenders of this world.

Tonight's parting shot is led by Talbot inviting the audience up on to the stage then vacating it to film the closing noise-fest meltdown from his phone. Bemused and awkward looking gents fumble to find some moves as screaming guitars are placed over unsuspecting necks and the whole charming calamity comes to a close.

An element of slight danger and unpredictability lurks in the shadows wherever Idles play as they sweep across this country of ours.

There is hope Britain, and musically it lies within bands like this.

IDLES - Forum Kentish Town, London. 18/10/2018.

So much power, so much energy! Proper emotion. And one of the best gigs I've ever been to. The guys rocked out all night, it looked like the best night of their lives.

The crowd fully engaged. Key highlights were - how many time the guitarist got down and crowd surfed - Danny Nedelko getting on stage for cuddles with everyone - the bass player starting the night off like a viking warrior - the power and honesty in Joe Talbots voice and the absolute scenes as bits of guitar were smashed everywhere.

One guitarist was in his pants all night, while the other looked like my kid brother. But boy would I want to be either of them to play on that stage that night. They brought more excitement than the most violent of computer games (think Trevor from GTAV), while Joe delivers lines as powerful as any peaceful protest with a big FU to the establishment.

Very cool. Definitely one of the wildest shows I've ever been to! The guitarists both spent a large percentage of the time crowdsurfing. They had the audience crowdsurf a hand-picked fan for an entire song. This was definitely the most gender-neutral, female-friendly moshing I've ever seen at a show. It got intense but it was friendly and when someone fell down during the opening act people protected him until they could get him up & out of the crowd. The fan following in the US is small but very tight-knit. However, I came in as a new fan and felt totally welcome.

Hands down the most energetic, intense, and powerful show I have ever been to. The crowd was amazing giving back energy to the band as they poured everything they had out on the stage (and multiple times into the crowd itself). I sweat, I cried and I bled. This band is FOR REAL, and I hope they can continue to find pleasure in making music and art that hits home with so many of us out here. BEAUTIFUL LOVING FURY is the best description of their music I can think of. I am glad I made this show a priority!

Awesome show full of passion, sweat and anger. definely recommended. loved it. thanks for having me, guys. the club was close to explode. also the support in hamburg was very good. kick ass show.A review must be at least 30 words long.A review must be at least 30 words long.
A review must be at least 30 words long.
A review must be at least 30 words long.
A review must be at least 30 words long.
A review must be at least 30 words long.
A review must be at least 30 words long.

Excellent show! One of the highest ernergy and upbeat shows I've seen. Aside from the great music, the band were fully committed, funny, friendly and actually inspirational! Many is the songs were dedicated, explained or a celebration of something or someone. The guitarists spent time interacting not only with, but IN the audience as well. I wouldn't hesitate to see them again.Go for it!

This was one of the best fucking shows I've ever seen. My head is killing me and my ears are still ringing, but Joe and company killed it. Such energy and passion went into each song, I could tell they were really happy to be playing in LA and the crowd loved it. At one point a bunch of people rushed the stage and danced around with the band, so fun

This band is one of our new-found favorites. Similar to Future Of The Left or Mclusky, the distorted bass-driven, clever guitar leads and raw vocals are a testament to what we consider "punk" to sound like, today.

If in Austin: go see this band!

Looking forward and hoping for a U.S.tour, soon.

Ty

The most important band of the day. Fact. Their passion, power, message and sheer joy is electric.

From the moment they came on stage they smashed it. They are so tight as a band and they didn’t fail to deliver.

Thank you lads and also thank you to the venue - all staff and security were ace!

One of the best bands I have ever seen live, great atmosphere, great crowd, great songs and band’s interaction with the crowd is incredible. Saw them at a hometown show in Bristol and have never heard people cheer for a band that loud before, if you get the chance to see Idles, don’t turn it down!