IDLES are set to release a new track on the 14th July, having teased fans with an excerpt on social media. The new single, named ‘A Hymn’, is the third from their upcoming album ‘Ultra Mono‘.
The announcement involved a cryptic visual which shows a home video of the band members getting into different vehicles. It is augmented by drawn-out, grunge-esque, guitar sounds, which appear to be the opening notes from the upcoming single. The previous two releases, ‘Grounds‘ and ‘Mr Motivator‘ (2020), have been well received by fans. ‘Grounds‘ is one of the band’s most upbeat tracks to date. Joe Talbot’s characteristically aggressive vocals mean that the track will not be sung by church choirs, but it seems as though their sound is evolving.
Talbot describes ‘Grounds‘ as a ‘song that embodied self-belief, and gave us self-belief – a counter-punch to all the doubt we build up from all the noise we let in‘. Talbot’s explanation demonstrates a shift to the spiritual. Their revolutionary sound seems to have transformed from the aggression of their first two albums, whilst maintaining their poetic movement for social change. The successes of their 2017 album, ‘Brutalism‘, and their 2018 work, ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance‘, mean that fans have high expectations for ‘Ultra Mono‘. ‘Brutalism’ propelled the band to fame. It was a highly political project which addressed misogyny and the class system, in a fiery, snarling 13 track call to arms. It earned rave reviews, including a four and a half star rating from American database, AllMusic. IDLES capitalised on their new-found fame by launching the blockbuster ‘Joy as an Act or Resistance‘ in 2018. It continued the political theme, as Talbot et al used the album to outline their position on Brexit. It received BBC 6 Music’s Album of the Year for 2018.
‘Ultra Mono‘ has the potential to be the shining jewel in IDLES revolutionary crown. A mature focus has added to their political nature, but the strong opening notes of ‘A Hymn’ demonstrate that the band have far from mellowed. Fans will no doubt be counting down the days before the Tuesday release. IDLES have earned plaudits for their political sound, and there is no doubt that this edge will not leave the band. The heavy opening notes on the teaser trailer bubble with the classic IDLES sound, and in this most political of times, fans will be ready for whatever they have in store.
