IDLES‘ Joe Talbot has explained that he thinks ‘Ultra Mono’ “translated badly” in the absence of live music last year.

Speaking to Mojo magazine, the frontman reflected on the setbacks of releasing the album in September 2020 – when concerts were still banned in the UK in a bid to curb coronavirus cases.

“I think that album translated badly as a home-listening device. The whole point of that record was to build a narrative with our audience,” he said (via Contact Music).

“The album itself was a caricature of what people thought of us and we wanted to kind of twist that up and then burn that effigy so we would start [upcoming fourth album] ‘Crawler’.”

Talbot continued: “We can’t make another ‘Joy’ [As An Act Of Resistance], we can’t make another ‘Ultra Mono’. We just can’t go back. Because we’ve done it. To death.

“We’ve done the biggest loudest most brash big rock album version of ourselves we can and we won’t go back there. We have to move forward.”

As for ‘Crawler’, Talbot explained that the record delves into “the worst years of [his] life but also the best, the most brilliant”. “If you don’t like hearing tales of struggle then you won’t like it,” he added. “But it makes me feel happy because I’m here. I’m alive.”

Set for release on November 12, IDLES’ fourth studio effort has been previewed with the single ‘The Beachland Ballroom’, which arrived with an accompanying two-part video. The album was co-produced by Kenny Beats and IDLES guitarist Mark Bowen.

IDLES will embark on a UK and Ireland headline tour in early 2022 – you can see the full schedule below.

JANUARY 2022

16 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
17 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
18 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
19 – O2 Academy Brixton, London
21 – Motorpoint Arena, Cardiff
22 – O2 Academy, Birmingham
24 – Vicar Street, Dublin
25 – Vicar Street, Dublin
26 – Vicar Street, Dublin
28 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
29 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester
30 – O2 Victoria Warehouse, Manchester

FEBRUARY 2022

1 – O2 Academy, Sheffield
2 – O2 City Hall, Newcastle
3 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
4 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow
5 – Barrowland Ballroom, Glasgow