Idles have “recorded a bunch of songs” for their new album and it’s going to be “more driven” than their previous work.
The band’s fifth record Tangk was released in 2024 and frontman Joe Talbot has now revealed they’ve been hard at work on number six and have already got about 10 songs laid down, but they will be taking a break from the studio and coming back to finish it off in late 2025.
Joe told NME: “I’m working on lots of music. It’s album time, and lots of other things … We’ve recorded a bunch of songs. We’ve got like 10 songs and we’re going to go back and do a bunch more.
“We’re doing some other projects in between, but we’re going to come back to the album later in the year and get it finished. We’re recording with Kenny [Beats] and Nigel [Godrich] again. It’s really magic, I can’t wait.”
He added of the new record: “This album is more driven. That’s all I can say, really. There’s more a drive to it.”
The band is currently focusing on their upcoming gigs in Bristol’s Queen Square next month. The Idles Block Party will feature two performances from the band on August 1 and 2 as well as sets by Soft Play, Lambrini Girls, Sicaria, The Voidz and Hinds across the two days.
Joe added of the shows: “Bristol is our first outing. It’s our homecoming show, and the only UK show we’re doing this year. It’s something we’ve been building towards for a very long time …
“These shows are a celebration of everything we’ve got to so far. We want to do it with music we love and people we love in the city we love.”
Joe also revealed Idles will be playing two different sets at the gigs to keep fans entertained.
Idles won critical acclaim for Tangk and landed five nominations at the Grammy Awards earlier this year, but Joe insisted they don’t rely on industry prizes for “validation”.
He told Variety: “You shouldn’t ask another person for validation, you should be able to just believe in yourself. But we have entered into a conversation of validation by making something and putting it out into the world – which is the Grammy conversation.
“It’s not something you root for or beg for – you work for it. So I understand how lucky I am and I’m very grateful to be here, and to be part of that conversation is beautiful. But to need validation from the award itself would be toxic.”