It just goes to show how quickly half a year has flown by. When IDLES posted “16 JUNE 2020” to their social media accounts on Sunday, my gut reaction was to despair at how distant in the future that seemed. After all, we can’t have gotten that far into the year can we? Turns out the 16th of June is tomorrow. Who knew?
Aside from the mercifully short waiting time, the band has of course given us more than just those ten characters to keep us on tenterhooks. Beneath the all-caps, no-frills tagline is a 30 second clip of what looks like a space hopper edging closer through the air towards a shirtless bloke wincing at the oncoming impact. The entire process filmed in glorious slow-motion, resembling something akin to an episode highlight from Total Wipeout where the roles of competitor and big red balls have been reversed.
16 JUNE 2020https://t.co/ilhoFeIsEY pic.twitter.com/jg2EtB5LD5
— I D L E S (@idlesband) June 14, 2020
Right before the space hopper has a chance to hit its target the video cuts away, as does the ominous feedback that gradually crescendos in the background. It may be that the gnarly buzz soundtracking the teaser video is just window-dressing, but some fans in the comment section of the band’s promotional Facebook post have speculated it could be the intro to “Grounds”, an unreleased track the punk outfit first debuted back in December of last year (see one fan’s short clip of the song performed live below).
If the boys from Bristol are releasing new material, it wouldn’t come as a total surprise; they’ve been dropping hints at the recording of their third album as far back as September 2019. Teasing appearances from Bad Seeds member Warren Ellis, the band have also made no bones about their very public love affair with hip hop producer Kenny Beats, who has production credits on their recent single “Mr. Motivator”.
Whatever the oncoming developments, it’s worth noting that IDLES took the time to pin the post to their Twitter account, even when the caption “16 JUNE 2020” had given it an online sell-by date of less than 48-hours. Looks like we’d better pay attention.
