Idles Announces New Album Ultra Mono for September 2020 Release and Shares New Song “Grounds”

British post punk rock band Idles have officially announced their new album, Ultra Mono, which will be available September 25. In addition, the band has released the album’s lead single, “Grounds,” along with a video accompaniment.

The song is aggressive and powerful, as the heavy percussive and instrumental hits almost give a heavy rap beat feel to the hard hitting song. The visuals are from the perspective of a driving car, and the shaking and constant movement of the camera play perfectly with the roughness of the song. The song is a rallying cry for unification, and an appropriate anti-establishment anthem that is well fitting for the current events of today, especially when frontman Joe Talbot proclaims, “I raise my pink fist and say / black is beautiful!”

“We wanted to write a song that embodied self-belief, and gave us self-belief – a counter-punch to all the doubt we build up from all the noise we so easily let in,” states Talbot of the song. “We wanted to make the sound of our own hearts’ marching band, armed with a jack hammer and a smile. We wanted to make the sound of our engine starting. So we did. Thank you.”

Ahead of the release of Ultra Mono, Idles will also host a series of three live performances from a surprise iconic studio space that will be revealed later on August 29 & 30, which will be professionally recorded, filmed and livestreamed. Upon purchase of a ticket, attendees will receive a unique link to access the performance live. Tickets are on sale now, and can be purchased here.

Idles previously released a single ahead of the announcement of the album last month when they released “Mr. Motivator,” a comedic workout motivation tune accompanied by a humorous video.

Check out the cover art and track list for Ultra Mono, as well as the dates for the live stream shows below:

Ultra Mono tracklist:
1. War
2. Grounds
3. Mr. Motivator
4. Anxiety
5. Kill Them With Kindness
6. Model Village
7. Ne Touche Pas Moi (feat. Jehnny Beth)
8. Carcinogenic
9. Reigns
10. The Lover
11. A Hymn
12. Danke

Significant dates:

06/16 – Grounds – song + video
07/14 – A Hymn – song + video
08/11 – Model Village – song + video
08/29 – Live – livestreams
08/30 – Live – livestream
09/08 – Reigns – song + video
09/25 – Ultra Mono + war – album + video

Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer