While an Apple Music Home Session originally offered a way to keep the music coming in lockdown, IDLES have viewed theirs—released in December 2021—as an opportunity to celebrate a loosening of restrictions. “We decided to use a live version of two of our favourite songs off our new album CRAWLER,” guitarist Mark Bowen tells Apple Music. “These Home Sessions were as a result of the lockdown, but now it feels like we have returned home after lockdown, and returned to live music with an audience. IDLES is most at home on stage; these songs are meant to be a shared experience of joy and unity with our audience, and we are now back where we are meant to be.” It’s no surprise then that the takes on “Car Crash” and “The Wheel” that you can listen to here carry the exhilarating spirit and intensity of a typical IDLES gig. The Bristol post-punks’ choice of cover is maybe a little less expected, though—the haunting folk ballad “Horizon” by Aldous Harding (aka New Zealand singer-songwriter Hannah Topp). “Ever since their album Party, they have been a constant source of inspiration to both myself and Joe [Talbot, IDLES singer],” says Bowen. “Their novel approach to their songwriting and genre, and ability to create catharsis and beauty out of the minimal and uncanny, was a direct influence on both the songwriting and approach to production on CRAWLER.” IDLES’ creativity has also been influenced by coming through the pandemic with a galvanised sense of purpose and gratitude. “Whilst there were many of our friends in the arts having to go back to their day jobs and seek new means of earning, the support from our fans and the community that had built around us meant we were able to fully throw ourselves into this album,” says Bowen. “We knew we would be returning to live shows when they were allowed, and that safety and gratitude led us to work our socks off on this new record. It also taught me that I need this: I need music for catharsis, to get out my feelings, emotions, a release. That there are more ways to do that than just playing a really loud, really active show. It can be found in the nuance of musicianship or real introspection in the writing and playing. I want our band to be the best version of itself it can be, warts and all. I am enjoying our new considered approach and want to push our boundaries further and further apart. Long live the open-minded!”