IDLES have contributed four original songs to Darren Aronofsky’s new film Caught Stealing, including the jagged, adrenalised ‘Rabbit Run’, which is out now.
The band also perform the film’s score, composed by longtime Aronofsky collaborator Rob Simonsen, with the full soundtrack due 29th August, the same day Caught Stealing hits cinemas.
The collaboration was seeded by chance: IDLES frontman Joe Talbot and Aronofsky happened to appear on the same Fallon episode. “In hindsight, I realise that Darren is one of my favourite directors and his films have in some ways made me who I am as an artist,” said Talbot. “This lucid dream has been a lifetime in the making.”
Aronofsky, best known for Requiem for a Dream, Black Swan and The Whale, wanted to “supercharge the film by mainlining a punk sensibility” – and turned out to what he calls his favourite band. “It has been a dream watching them bend their notes to blast a hole in our movie screen.”
Caught Stealing follows Austin Butler’s Hank Thompson, a former baseball prodigy pulled into criminal chaos after a favour for his punk-rock neighbour. Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Regina King, and Liev Schreiber also star. Based on the book by Charlie Huston, the script was adapted by the author himself.
Rob Simonsen described the score’s development as a fresh challenge. “Building a palette that started from their sound – the incredible textures they create through inventive use of feedback, distortion, and pedals – was a really satisfying challenge,” he said. “They’re not only extraordinarily talented muscians, but individuals with clear eyes, big hearts, and bold souls.”
The film’s soundtrack features a cover of Junior Marvin’s ‘Police and Thieves’, famously reworked by The Clash in 1977, alongside a mix of Simonsen compositions and the new IDLES originals. The band’s TANGK era may be drawing to a close, but their foray into scoring marks a sharp turn – one rooted in punk, anxiety, and cinematic grit.
IDLES play two sold-out hometown shows in Bristol this weekend before heading to Europe and North America, where they’ll tour with My Chemical Romance and Deftones and appear at Riot Fest and Shaky Knees.
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