IDLES, photo by Tom Ham
Caught Stealing, Darren Aronofsky’s highly anticipated crime thriller set in New York’s ‘90s punk underground, has finally arrived in theaters today. On Wednesday, Aug. 27, in one glorious final blast of pre-release hype, IDLES took the stage at the East Village’s Night Club 101 to revive the legacy of the Avenue A venue’s former occupants, the legendary Pyramid Club.
IDLES’ secret set was the prize at the end of a guerrilla marketing campaign scavenger hunt. Passersby who took a beat to check out the mysterious classic payphones, strategically replaced around the city following their removal over the last few years, were offered recommendations for carefully curated cultural experiences. Wednesday’s committed participants followed a payphone clue to another payphone, which led to the NYC institution A1 Records. At the shop, they received mysterious tickets to The Idles at The Pyramid Club, which, of course, turned out to be IDLES. As a cherry on top, Night Club 101 adorned its doorway with a reproduction of The Pyramid Club’s iconic sign.
IDLES is a band built for an amphitheatre, and Night Club 101 can hold a couple of hundred attendees before fire codes come into question. The rabid frenzy that the English post-hardcore trailblazers inspired was enough to turn the venue into a booming, limbs-flailing, sweat-drenched pit, especially after frontman Joe Talbot asked that club staff turn off the air conditioning. Talbot barked, thrashed, and busted up a ceiling tile while leading the quintet through old favorites like “Heel/Heal,” “I’m Scum,” “Divide and Conquer,” and “Never Fight a Man With a Perm,” interspersed with newer cuts like “Dancer,” featured on the band’s Grammy-nominated 2024 record TANGK. Attendees also caught the live debut of “Rabbit Run,” the explosive, claustrophobic and unchained anthem IDLES cut for the Caught Stealing soundtrack.
Beyond the commendable publicity stunt, IDLES not only wrote and recorded four tracks for the Caught Stealing soundtrack, but also performed the film’s score by composer Rob Simonden. “This has been a huge opportunity for us that seemingly came about after a chance meeting backstage at Fallon when we both happened to be guests on the same day,” Talbot shared in a release. “But in hindsight, I realize that Darren is one of my favorite directors and his films have in some ways made me who I am as an artist. This lucid dream has been a lifetime in the making and one that I will live over and over with a huge sense of humility and joy.”
Caught Stealing follows former high school baseball golden boy Hank Thompson (Austin Butler), who becomes ensnared in a web of feuding crime enterprises when his punk neighbor (Matt Smith) asks him to watch his cat for a few days. Beyond big names like Zoë Kravitz, Regina King and Liev Schreiber, the film features appearances from musical artists like Bad Bunny and Action Bronson. Aronofsky echoed Talbot’s sentiments about their complementary styles, adding, “I built Caught Stealing to be a roller coaster of fun and wanted to supercharge the film by main lining a punk sensibility. I don’t think a band has really been tasked with performing a score for a movie. Who better to collaborate with than IDLES? It has been a dream watching them bend their notes to blast a hole in our movie screen.”
Listen to the Caught Stealing soundtrack here. Read more about IDLES’ collaboration with Aronofsky here.
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