Just over a year since their previous album ‘Ultra Mono’ dropped, listeners will be delighted to have a new one already on the horizon. IDLES’ fourth studio album ‘Crawler’ is due for release on 12th November 2021 and will be produced by their very own Mark Bowen along with Kenny Beats.
The first single, ‘The Beachland Ballroom’, is our first glimpse into what the Bristolian boys have been working on.
Capturing the same anguish and quiet tension that ‘Colossus’ encapsulated, ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ is slow-burning and soul-baring. Named after an Ohio venue where the band played twice (once in 2018 on the small stage, and again in 2019 on the main stage), the track is a reflection of the progress IDLES have made as a band.
From their early days performing to a handful of people in local pubs, to headlining sold out festivals across the globe, ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ represents the highs and the lows of fame as well as being an expression of resilience. This song is an ode to making it as a musician and going on to play the stages one had previously only dreamt of.
From the moment the music starts, we’re given unfeigned and unapologetic emotion that doesn’t stop till the final chords. Just before the chorus, everything slows down, and it’s hauntingly theatrical. In true Talbot energy, the tune reaches a crescendo as he cathartically sings: "Soon as the rush went away / I need not look for a way / Damage, damage, damage, / If you see me down on my knees / Please, do not think that I pray / Damage, damage, damage." It’s a brutal and atmospheric track which shows how boundless IDLES are as a band.
“It’s the most important song on the album, really,” frontman Joe Talbot said in a press release. “There’s so many bands that go through the small rooms and dream of making it into the big rooms. Being able to write a soul tune like this made me go, fuck – we’re at a place where we’re actually allowed to go to these big rooms and be creative and not just go through the motions and really appreciate what we’ve got. The song is sort of an allegory of feeling lost and getting through it. It’s one that I really love singing.”
Above all else, ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ is a testament to IDLES’ ability to explore new sounds and aesthetics without losing their edge, or elements of what make them truly exhilarating.
@naoimi.johanna
Image: IDLES ‘The Beachland Ballroom’ Official Single Cover (PRESS)
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