On a crisp autumn night, the punk-adjacent congregations of Centre-Ville gathered at the sold-out MTELUS, donning their finest black band t-shirts, to witness the advent of English post-punk quintet IDLES with support from English Teacher.
My prior knowledge of these acts came from a speed-run listen of their discographies along with a few conversations with IDLES fans over the years that suggested this band garners a passionate fanbase. Like the “I’ve seen them five times and got their lyrics tattooed” kind of passion. English Teacher is fresher to the scene, but they’re already making a big impression, as their first LP This Could Be Texas released this year won the esteemed Mercury Prize.
English Teacher was a pleasure to have in class, so to speak. I wouldn’t normally describe a rock band as elegant, but a lot of rock bands don’t feature piano and upright bass, do they? Vocalist Lily Fontaine gracefully navigated spoken word and full-throttle belting, moving between rawness and clarity in her tone. “Nearly Daffodils” showcased this full range of vocal flexibility along with some crisp 7/8 time signature breakdowns from the strings that created both a tense and energetic atmosphere. I was unexpectedly reminded of the indie-Brit-pop singer Kate Nash (who, by the way, is coming to Foufounes Electrique in October) in the way that the lightness of the plinky piano chords and guitar arpeggios complemented the punchy lyrics and warm basslines.
Then the crowd did, in fact, go fucking nuts for IDLES. I witnessed at least two walls of death and an innumerable number of flying sweatshirts and appendages from crowd-surfers. The energy of both the crowd and the performers was equally matched: guitarist Mark Bowen swung his instrument around like a hula hoop, drummer Jon Beavis had no hesitation to fire off blast beats on the kick drum, and the lead singer Joe Talbot maintained an unbridled shout-singing voice for a whopping hour and a half. It felt like these songs were really designed with the live performance in mind; they sounded more complete with hundreds of raspy voices providing the backing vocals to the singer’s thick-accented declarations on tracks like “Gift Horse,” screaming “LOOK AT HIM GOOOOO” in a blissful and unified fervor. It’s like listening to “Seven Nation Army” on YouTube in comparison to hearing a football stadium hooting and hollering along to the infamous bassline.
I vibed with IDLES the most when they ventured into groovier tracks with snare rim-clicks and syncopated beats like on “Samaritans” and “POP POP POP” from their newest album TANGK. At worst, I found songs like “Car Crash” to drag on with a monotonous drone and a plodding beat, more aptly comparable to a deflating tire than an explosion. Nevertheless, there’s no denying that IDLES’ intensity and drive remained unwavering throughout the show, with the audience fully matching their raw enthusiasm.
