The first EP released by IDLES has been made available to stream again.

‘Welcome’, which was released by the Bristol punks in 2012, has been added back to streaming services after an indeterminable time offline. “The Welcome EP is finally back on all DSPs xx” the band wrote on Twitter today (March 30).

The Welcome EP is finally back on all DSPs xxhttps://t.co/rWJzBvElco — I D L E S (@idlesband) March 30, 2020


Meanwhile, IDLES disclosed recently that the follow-up to their acclaimed 2018 album ‘Joy As An Act of Resistance’ is nearing completion, with Talbot revealing at the end of last year that the record is “being mixed right now”.

The forthcoming album is set to include contributions from rising US producer Kenny Beats, who recently praised Idles as “the best band in the whole world”.

“I heard IDLES and was like: ‘This is all I want to work on, this is all I want to do, these guys are the best,’” Kenny said. “I got into their DMs and told them that, and luckily we got to meet and the proof is in the pudding. I care so much and I think they can tell. It has nothing to do with anybody knowing we’re working together or money or anything.

“I love what they’re doing, I want to be a part [of it], so now everyone knows I’m a part of it,” he added.


In other news, seminal punk-poet John Cooper Clarke has hailed Idles and Slaves as two of the main bands that he’s listening to at the moment.

The ‘I Wanna Be Yours’ writer explained how he was recently introduced to the Mercury Prize-nominated Bristol band on the recommendation of his daughter.

He told NME: “I think Idles are fabulous. My daughter introduced me to their music, just the day before yesterday. She’s got a great ear for that kind of thing.”