The Nick Cave song that IDLES frontman Joe Talbot called “perfect”

IDLES exploded from the Bristol rock scene in the mid-2010s with a scattering of EPs leading up to their highly acclaimed debut album, Brutalism, which landed in 2017. The band followed up with Joy as an Act of Resistance the following year, with Ultra Mono arriving at the height of Covid-19 hysteria in September 2020. 

The recurring theme over the first three albums was one of anger, expressed invariably towards societal inequality and inept political leadership – often targeted at the Conservative party. Remember, “the best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich,” as frontman Joe Talbot bawls in ‘Mother’. 

In 2021’s Crawler, IDLES’ fourth studio effort, Talbot is markedly less angry, or at least less outwardly so. Instead, the music follows a predominantly introspective thread as Talbot poetically observes a period of healing following a period of therapy and a newfound life of sobriety. 

In 2021, discussing Crawler as a reactionary follow-up to its underwhelming predecessor, Ultra Mono, Talbot told NME: “The frustration and the alienation made us realise what we were doing wrong. I realised that I needed to start holding myself accountable for my mistranslations in what I wanted to say and what I was actually saying in the songs.”

“I was in therapy for two years, and it made me realise that I was angry at the wrong people,” he added. “The critics weren’t the ones that were wrong – I was. It’s beautiful because now I can see Ultra Mono for what it is – an amazing live album, with a few songs where I was really lost.”

Ultra Mono was released as IDLES’ third studio album in September 2020. The album came with the raw fury fans had become accustomed to over the first two records but was met with divided critical attention due to its unnecessary degree of provocation.

The album featured guest appearances from Jehnny Beth of Savages, Jesus Lizard singer David Yow, jazz-pop singer and radio presenter Jamie Cullum, and last but not least, Warren Ellis, the composer of Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds and Dirty Three fame.

As it turns out, IDLES and frontman Talbot, especially, are huge fans of Nick Cave and his varied catalogue. As well as their roots in punk, Talbot and Cave share a difficult history with addiction and have found comfort in sobriety and creativity over recent years. 

When picking out some of the most important songs of his life in a 2020 feature with Kerrang, Talbot picked out Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ song ‘Into My Arms’ as a song that always makes him cry. The classic track was released on Cave’s masterpiece 1997 album, The Boatman’s Call and is considered one of his most poignantly enduring classics. 

“When a figure such as Nick Cave – a father figure, someone who seems unbreakable and strong – becomes vulnerable and opens up, it’s a beautiful thing,” Talbot said of his idol. “It’s one of the most perfect songs ever written; it’s so tender. I love it, and I love him. It reminds me of my partner, and she always makes me cry.”

Listen to Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds’ ‘Into My Arms’ below.

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