IDLES Unveil Music for Darren Aronofsky’s ‘Caught Stealing’

IDLES, photo by Tom Ham

Continuing their rapid ascent to rock’s upper echelon, IDLES have partnered with Darren Aronofsky to create music for his upcoming crime thriller Caught Stealing. The English post-hardcore trailblazers, who last year earned a Grammy nomination for their fifth studio album TANGK, have produced four tracks for the eagerly awaited feature and lent their genre-obliterating instrumental talents to performing a score by composer Rob Simonden. To preview the bold new project, they’ve shared the advance single “Rabbit Run,” a brooding and explosive, claustrophobic and unchained anthem that imparts a sense of the film’s gritty themes.

“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,” IDLES frontman Joe Talbot said. “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.”

Simonden, who previously worked with Aronofsky on The Whale and “Postcard from Earth,” detailed the process of conjuring the atmosphere of New York’s underground in the ‘90s: “I was really excited by the idea that Darren had for our third project together, which was to write a score for IDLES, using them as our orchestra. They had created original songs for the film, and 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. Our work with the band was genuinely inspiring. They’re not only extraordinarily talented musicians, but individuals with clear eyes, big hearts, and bold souls.”

IDLES’ soundtrack for Caught Stealing will release alongside the film on August 29. Watch the music video for “Rabbit Run,” paired with lots of running from the film, below.