Idlesโ highly anticipated new album Ultra Mono is now in shops โ and so is the latest issue of Uncut, in which the band talk with typical candour about the making of their big statement record and their compelling journey up to this point. You can also order a copy of the magazine online by clicking here. In the meantime, hereโs a taster of Michael Hannโs eye-opening encounter with the Bristol bruisers:
The principal recording for Ultra Mono took place in just eight days, at La Frette Studios, an hour north of Paris, a favoured location of Nick Launay and his co-producer Adam โAtomโ Greenspan. โI got an email from Nick, saying he was at La Frette, and I should come and have a listen to what they were doing,โ says Warren Ellis, who lives in Paris. He walked in while Launay and the band were having lunch, to Idlesโ astonishment (frontman Joe Talbot idolises the Bad Seeds). And so he was pressed into action for what he describes, laughingly, as โone of the more challenging things Iโve had to do in a studioโ.
โJoe turned to me and said, โIโd really like to have some backing vocals like Malcolm Young. And seeing as youโre Australian, you can do grunts, like on [AC/DCโs] โTNTโ.โ The thing I like about Idles that I saw in the studio is that theyโre very much a group, and thereโs power and strength in a group. They see the potential in that, and thatโs an unusual trait these days. It was really great to see their love for being in a band.โ
Former Jesus Lizard frontman David Yow, another guest, recorded his contributions from Los Angeles. โThey played a show at the Fonda theatre in LA [in May 2019] and I wanted to go but it was sold out,โ says Yow. โI got in touch on Facebook and they got me in. Next thing you know, weโre pals. They were phenomenal that night. I was so impressed something that aggressive could be that caring and loving and almost spiritual. Theyโre so positive. You get a warm feeling watching those guys, because they give a fuck. Theyโre the fuck givers.โ
Ultra Mono feels like the culmination of work that began with 2017โs Brutalism โ the end of phase one in Idlesโ story, if you will. โI asked myself, โAre we really representing our sense of unity and community?โโ says Talbot. โSo I looked at hip-hop, Wagner, techno. Normally, thereโs only one or two things going on in those songs at the same time. So once you get rid of all the noise frequencies, you can turn it up. Five egos playing different things at the same time is noise. But all of you playing the same thing at the same time is volume and power and unity.โ
โWhen we started, we were told no-one is going to be interested in guitars,โ says guitarist Mark Bowen. โThey said, โItโs never going to be popular โ too loud, too aggressive.โ But with the polarised politics and the increased inequality โ the ageism and racism and sexism and the shit that makes you feel isolated โ people are searching for community and catharsis. And Idles are my community.โ
โIt took a long time and a lot of screaming matches to get it right,โ Talbot says. โBut weโre there. We are there. And weโll keep on going as long as the music allows it.โ
You can read much more from Idles in the November 2020 issue of Uncut, out now with PJ Harvey on the cover.