British rock band IDLES’ debut album, 2017’s Brutalism, was acclaimed for both its visceral, punk-infused sound and the raw emotional honesty of frontman Joe Talbot’s lyrics. ∙ The death of Talbot’s mother had a huge impact on Brutalism: he included a photo of her on the cover and had her ashes pressed into 100 limited-edition copies of the vinyl release. ∙ Just six months after their debut album, IDLES opened for Foo Fighters in a one-off show commemorating the 10th birthday of London’s famed O2 arena. ∙ Joy as an Act of Resistance. pays homage to Dirty Dancing—featuring a key song (a cover of Solomon Burke’s “Cry to Me”) and lyric (“I carried a watermelon”) from the ’80s film. ∙ In 2019, they won Best British Breakthrough Act at the Kerrang! Awards and were nominated for Best Breakthrough Act at the Brit Awards. ∙ Their 2020 album, Ultra Mono, was coproduced by post-punk legend Nick Launay (Kate Bush, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, Arcade Fire).