Idles releases their second album, Joy as an Act of Resistance, on 31 August, and alongside this they have curated an art exhibition and sale at HM Electrics Gallery in London on 30 and 31 August, with all proceeds going to The Samaritans. So – if any of our readers is in the Capital this week, why not call in and grab yourself a piece of contemporary art from a variety of artists and mediums.
‘Samaritans’, the 7th track on the album, has been a live favourite for some time.
Front man Joe Talbot had this to say about the song’s message:
“There’s been a long line of bullshit that has pushed men into a corner, where simple masking becomes a trope of masculinity and a catalyst for insanity. What we wear, what we eat, what razor we use, high performance chewing gum, go faster shampoo, how we treat women, how we treat ourselves, how we die. I truly believe that masculinity has gone from an evolution of cultural praxis to a disease. I wanted to encourage a conversation about gender roles by writing this song.”
The band will be at Crash Records in Leeds on 6 September at 1 p.m. as part of an in-store tour in the UK, before embarking on their first ever global tour.
Listen/watch here and feel free to share.
Read Joe’s statement on the album’s inspiration and origins here.
