IDLES Manifest Ritualistic Peculiarity in Video for “Stockholm Syndrome”

The IDLES stock has risen great deal in the past few years, but their most recent album, Crawler, secured the British punk titans a spot among the heavyweights. Since the record dropped last fall, they played their first-ever Coachella set and even performed at Lollapalooza last week. Ahead of their North American tour this fall, the band released a new music video for their song “Stockholm Syndrome.” Check it out below:

About the above video, directors Charlotte Gosch and bandmember Lee Kiernan said the following: “The process of making the video was very fulfilling for the both of us as we were able to physically create what we were imagining. Both the masks and shapes were handmade and painted by ourselves and friends.

“Working with our DOP Rob French we were also able to realise the long shots of each verse and the opening scene of the dancers. We both love the exhaustive and immediate feeling that a long shot can convey, like in Gus Van Sant’s Gerry, which we referenced quite literally.

“The initial idea of the video was to try and visualise the monotony hell of having to work to survive and how the ‘machine’ eventually engulfs you and strips you of your freedoms. But we wanted to achieve this in a metaphorical way that kept the meaning as open as possible. So it becomes rather a visual representation that can be read in many different ways.”

Photo Credit: Kalyn Oyer

Karan Singh: I am an Indian American music journalist based in Los Angeles. My interests include (but aren't limited to) hip-hop, punk, rhythm & blues, rock and traditional world music. After working in the publishing industry as a copy editor for nearly three years, I decided to switch professions and become a writer. I have a bachelor's degree in English from UC Santa Cruz and a master's degree in Specialized Journalism from the University of Southern California. My aim as a writer is to explore the forces that energize creativity. I've always felt a natural pull toward the arts and entertainment space, and my stories seek to magnify the facets of its adjoining cultures.
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