IDLES have shared new material in a searing takedown of toxic masculinity entitled “Samaritans“. A live favourite for sometime, the Theo Watkins directed music video compiles archival clips displaying traditional masculine imagery.
Speaking of the song’s message, frontman Joe Talbot says: “There’s been a long line of bullshit that has pushed men into a corner, where simple masking becomes a trope of masculinity and a catalyst for insanity. What we wear, what we eat, what razor we use, high performance chewing gum, go faster shampoo, how we treat women, how we treat ourselves, how we die. I truly believe that masculinity has gone from an evolution of cultural praxis to a disease. I wanted to encourage a conversation about gender roles by writing this song.”
Watch the video below.
“Samaritans” is the third song to be released from IDLES’s much-anticipated upcoming album Joy As An Act Of Resistance. Produced by Space and mixed by Adam Greenspan & Nick Launay (Arcade Fire, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Kate Bush), The album takes aim at everything from nationalism and immigration to class inequality – all while maintaining a visceral, infectious positivity. Singer Joe Talbot summarises: “This album is an attempt to be vulnerable to our audience and to encourage vulnerability; a brave naked smile in this shitty new world. We have stripped back the songs and lyrics to our bare flesh to allow each other to breathe, to celebrate our differences, and act as an ode to communities and the individuals that forge them. Because without our community, we’d be nothing.”
This autumn, IDLES will embark on their first ever global tour, including their biggest London headliner yet at O2 Forum Kentish Town on 18th October. Their last London headliner, at Heaven, sold out nearly six months in front (full dates below).
11 Sept – Tokyo, JP – Daikanyama Unit
14 Sept – Chicago, IL – Lincoln Hall
15 Sept – Fort Wayne, IN Middle Waves Music Festival
16 Sept – Columbus, OH – Ace of Cups
17 Sept – Toronto, ON – Lee’s Palace
18 Sept – Montreal, QC – Theatre Fairmont
20 Sept – Boston, MA – Brighton Music Hall
22 Sept – Brooklyn, NY – Music Hall of Williamsburg
24 Sept – Philadelphia, PA – First Unitarian Church
25 Sept – Washington, DC – Rock & Roll Hotel
27 Sept – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
28 Sept – Nashville, TN – The High Watt
29 Sept – St. Louis, MO – Blueberry Hill Duck Room
01 Oct – Denver, CO – Larimer Lounge
04 Oct – Vancouver, BC – The Rickshaw Theatre
05 Oct – Portland, OR – Doug Fir Lounge
06 Oct – Seattle, WA – Sunset Tavern
08 Oct – San Francisco, CA – The Independent
10 Oct – Los Angeles, CA – Teragram Ballroom
16 Oct – Bristol, UK – SWX
17 Oct – London, UK – Roundhouse *
18 Oct – London, UK – O2 Forum Kentish Town
19 Oct – Manchester, UK – O2 Ritz
20 Oct – Glasgow, UK – O2 ABC
23 Oct – Newcastle, UK – Riverside
24 Oct – Leeds, UK – Leeds University Stylus
25 Oct – Nottingham, UK – Rock City
26 Oct – Birmingham, UK – Institute
27 Oct – Brighton, UK – Concorde 2
29 Oct – Oxford, UK – O2 Academy
30 Oct – Lille, FR – L’Aeronef
01 Nov – Brussels, BE – Botanique
02 Nov – Leffinge, NL – De Zwerver
03 Nov – Dusseldorf, DE – zakk
04 Nov – Amsterdam, NL – Melkweg
06 Nov – Groningen, NL – VERA
08 Nov – Copenhagen, DK – Loppen
09 Nov – Hamburg, DE – Knust
10 Nov – Leipzig, DE – UT Connewitz
11 Nov – Berlin, DE – SO36
13 Nov – Prague, CZ – Futurum
14 Nov – Vienna, AT – Flex Cafe
16 Nov – Munich, DE – Ampere
17 Nov – St. Gallen, CH – Palace
18 Nov – Dudingen, CH – Bad Bonn
19 Nov – Zurich, CH – Mascotte
20 Nov – Lausanne, CH – Les Docks
22 Nov – Milan, IT – Circolo Magnolia
23 Nov – Lyon, FR – Epicerie Moderne
24 Nov – Bordeaux, FR – Rock School Barbey
26 Nov – Porto, PT – Hard Club
27 Nov – Lisbon, PT – Lisboa ao Vivo
29 Nov – Madrid, ES – Moby Dick
30 Nov – Barcelona, ES – Razzmatazz
01 Dec – Toulouse, FR – Connexion Live
* Q Awards show with Wolf Alice