Idles have released a video for their new track titled Model Village.
A snarling missive which goes to war with suffocating, small-town Britain and its close-minded ideals, it's quintessentially British in its depiction of pubs and rose gardens – but could really apply to anywhere in the world right now.
It's the fourth single taken from upcoming album Ultra Mono, which is set for release on September 25 via Partisan Records, and is accompanied by an animated video directed by Michel and Olivier Gondry.
“I hated growing up in a city that was really a town that was really a fishbowl," vocalist Joe Talbot says of the track. "I left as soon as I could, only to realise the fishbowl didn't exist... just the fish, and they're everywhere."
On the video, he adds: "Michel’s work is handmade and it's human and that's something that our society pushes against: you need to be perfect. You need to look perfect and everything needs to be seamless and strong.
"But actually, vulnerability and naivety are strengths. To be vulnerable and to be naive is to have empathy. And so, to empathise with your adversaries and allow yourself to be naked on film or on record is a really strong thing to do. It liberates you and it also liberates your audience. That's something that I hope that Idles can do, and that Gondry's been doing for years.”
"Olivier and I were excited to work on this because we use completely opposite techniques," adds Michel Gondry. "I work with a primitive system of cutting paper and moving it under the lens frame by frame. Olivier then transforms it by morphing, warping and CGI
"Basically, in the first part we try to illustrate the lyrics as close as possible, to create the world, and then in the second half... they go to the moon."
Idles will also host three live studio performances prior to the launch of Ultra Mono on August 29 and 30. These will be professionally recorded, filmed and streamed live to those who purchase a ticket from the band’s website.
Check out the video for Model Village below.
Idles: Ultra Mono
1. War
2. Grounds
3. Mr. Motivator
4. Anxiety
5. Kill Them With Kindness
6. Model Village
7. Ne Touche Pas Moi (ft Jehnny Beth)
8. Carcinogenic
9. Reigns
10. The Lover
11. A Hymn
12. Danke
