Last month, we wrote about how musicians are involving fans to create new art during the lockdown stage of the pandemic. We can now add IDLES to the mix, as the British hardcore-punk band have unleashed a new song called “Mr. Motivator”, complete with music video featuring fans dancing wildly whilst stuck at home.
The track is the first blast from IDLES forthcoming third album, the follow-up to 2018’s essential Joy as an Act of Resistance.
“We want to start this journey with a means to not only encapsulate the album’s sentiment,” says singer Joe Talbot, “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 and the most beautiful community of scumbags ever assembled. Let’s go. All is love.”
“Mr. Motivator” is classic IDLES, a crushing call-to-arms anthem that lyrically shouts-out Conor McGregor, LeBron James, Frida Kahlo, David Attenborough, and Flava Flav, and includes a seemingly instantly iconic line of “Like Kathleen Hannah with bear claws grabbing Trump by the pussy.”
All hail the people’s church of IDLES.
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Check out John Hutchings’ full gallery of IDLES’ wild October 2019 appearance at Royale in Boston below.