Why Idles’ drummer Jon Beavis should have more of your attention
When Idles released their latest single this week, ‘Rabbit Run’ – a song that will make up part of the soundtrack for the new Darren Aronofsky movie, Caught Stealing – it confirmed something I already knew. Jon Beavis is one of the world’s most underrated drummers.
Given the track’s role as a soundtrack, it’s tricky to understand just where it will be placed in the rollout of their next chapter. Whether it can wholly be assumed as a signpost for Idles’ album six or instead the par for a very cinematic course, a custom-made track destined to support a film’s narrative and nothing more.
Perhaps, in the world of Idles, it can be both? Cinema doesn’t always have to be a window of escapism, bolstered by the grand soundscapes of orchestral arrangements and happy endings. Perhaps more importantly, they’re a mirror, providing an objective view of a gritty reality and its stories. And after all, that’s a mantra Idles’ music has followed since the very first note of their debut EP, Welcome.
So why can’t ‘Rabbit Run’ find its place in the next Idles chapter? One that worryingly finds itself in an even bleaker landscape than their post-Brexit epics, Brutalism and Joy As An Act Of Resistance.
It hits all the notes of the next great Idles track sonically. The production is as slick as ever, and Joe Talbot’s rap-infused vocals continue to develop their range, with soft falsettos riding the rhythm. Indeed, the rhythm is making the modernised sound of Idles so compelling, as is the criminally underrated work of their drummer, Jon Beavis.
Often, the makings of a great drummer are misunderstood. Frantic and chaotic energy can be confused for the hallmarks of John Bonham, simply reducing the essence of the skill down to nothing more than energy. If that is your thing, then Beavis brings it in spades throughout the entirety of the band’s discography. ‘I’m Scum’ is powerfully groovy, ‘The Wheel’ is hypnotically unrelenting and ‘War’ is an outright tour de force.
But when the band wholly embraced their electronic influences on Tangk and ‘POP POP POP’, rather than step aside and allow the drum machines to line this new work of punk-come-grime, Beavis delivered a laser-focused beat that stuttered with a swagger rivalling that of Talbot’s vocal take.
As the drummer of a band who constantly immerses themselves in production, ignoring the confines of whatever label critics are quick to brand them with, Beavis has to be adaptable. Most of the time, Idles’ ideas are thrown at the wall with chaotic vibrance, and it’s largely up to Beavis to bring coherence. A privilege not lost on the band.
“Jon’s like a machine,” guitarist Lee Kiernan told Far Out in April, adding, “You can literally just say, ‘can you do this?’ mouth something and then there you go. And also weirdly, he manages to stay in time with himself, like a robot.”
As ‘Rabbit Run’ stammers out of the speakers, the undeniable importance of Beavis once again rings true. He lays down a beat somewhat similar to that of its Tangk predecessor, but with an extra layer of fills, demanding that this time, it be the centre piece of the track. Talbot’s whisper willingly climbs on the back of Beavis’ beat, as it wades through the sludge, with Kiernan and Mark Bowen’s guitar flourishes acting as willing bodyguards, politely pushing anyone in its wake out of the way.
Wherever you stand on Idles, their position as one of Britain’s most captivating bands is undeniable. They provoke conversation with every utterance of a new line and, amidst their relentless schedule of touring and releasing, somehow manage to cultivate records that dive deeper into the depths of heady production. But wherever that conversation leads you upon the release of their sixth album, be sure to include Beavis’ name at the very beginning.
