A new year comes around and IDLES are already ramping up anticipation for the 16th February release of their new album ‘TANGK’, plus the major UK tour that will follow it.
And today, the band have unveiled the new single “Gift Horse”, which has just received its first play courtesy of Steve Lamacq at 6 Music.
The track continues to showcase the band’s ever-growing ambition with the new record, which has already been previewed by the mantric euphoria of “Dancer” and the soulful slowburner “Grace”.
“Gift Horse” ups the intensity from the album’s previous singles, its lean, taut intensity balanced by an undercurrent of gristly grooves and stuttering, charismatic delivery from the always thought-provoking Joe Talbot. Yet for all its sinewy menace, it’s sensitive too: a testament to redemption, to finding something or someone that makes the worries of the world feel not just tolerable but motivating. Collectively ‘TANGK’ celebrates love, communion and all of those powerful emotions that make existence worthwhile and “Gift Horse” is firmly in that lineage, declaring“All is love and love is all.”
Speaking about the track, Joe says:
“Look at us go! Music and movement for you and yours. Be bold and ride us like the disco donkeys we are. Or at least watch our video.”
“Gift Horse” is accompanied by a video which finds unity between the almost fantastical characters that lurk on the outskirts of society with the mundanity of day-to-day life. The setting in a supermarket, where a dead-eyed checkout man absentmindedly scans items while the rest of the store brims with surrealistic images: main character social media creators, people seemingly in the midst of a manic episode, an otherwise straightlaced preacher, and guitarist Mark Bowentaking a mechanical bull by the horns.
‘TANGK’ is set to propel IDLES a leap beyond what they achieved with‘CRAWLER’, a record which extended one of the most inspiring band/fanbase connections around while also landing their first two Grammy Award nominations. Excitement for the album saw all 2000 copies of a limited edition Blood Records 10” format sell-out in just thirty minutes!
IDLES’ huge touring plans for the year ahead have already seen several shows sell-out almost a year in advance. Today also brings news that they will celebrate the release of ‘TANGK’ by playing three intimate out-store shows, culminating with a homecoming gig at The Marble Factory in Bristol (on sale this Friday @ 10am). The full list of the band’s upcoming UK and Ireland shows are also listed below.
IDLES – UK & IRELAND TOUR DATES 2024
