Shoplifting with IDLES

Joy As An Act Of Resistance, their new record and our September Album of the Month is out now. A sharp take on modern Britain, building from an ominous growl to a full-on howl of exuberant explosively emotive power; it is a finely honed selection of powerful anthems on full tilt.

Joe Talbot from IDLES raided the Rough Trade racks for his favorite albums. Here's what he picked and why you should listen to them.

Bambara - Shadow On Everything

"This is my favorite record in quite some time. I love it. It pulls and pushes and tears and I have listened to it so many times that I think I might be in Bambara. I haven’t felt some of the feelings I got listening to this record since 2002, serious."

Beak> - >>>

"I feel that this record made a bold statement from the dialect of Beak’s language. There is new depth to the record that I wasn’t expecting from them: it is their brightest record which makes it their darkest record. It’s magic and bold."

Anna Calvi - Hunter

"I absolutely love the timbre that Anna Calvi delivers, her world is so dark and intriguing. Not many people can pull off the noirish universe that exists in Hunter and the lyrics and astute as fuck. Real good shit."

Lithics - Mating Surfaces

"This one came out of nowhere for me; I just saw the front cover and grabbed it. I really appreciate how hard it is to make an angular record feel so human as well as urgent and biting but this is such a wonderful display of post-punk that I’ve not heard in a long time."

Frigs - Basic Behaviour

"I really enjoy this record more and more with each listen, as new things pop up and I get so excited by the relationship the vocals have with the music when listening intently. The songs are good pop songs and are savage at the same time which carries me to different places whenever I listen which is cool."

Interpol - Marauder

"I was so deeply excited by this record as it carried all that I love from their other records but with such maximalist vigour. I love how they have sustained their own palette within their world but expanded the experience so well."

BC Camplight - Deportation Blues

"I discovered these guys at End of the Road Festival 2017, it was like a really surreal twisted wedding/prom band vibes, his voice is different to what people are doing at the minute and it works well. This album deals with the misery of what Brexit means to people who have come to the UK to embrace it and enthuse our culture with joy only to have us turn our backs on them. Long live open minds and more open borders."

Amen Dunes - Freedom

"Freedom, I love this guys voice so so much. What a stunning album. Thanks Amen Dunes."