Idlework.
Overview
Idlework is a British Indie duo that was first released in 2020. With only a handful of tracks released, they haven’t had a range of music to dive into. Despite this, they explored many genres, including Electro Indie. Combined with Indie Rock, these genres are just the surface of it. They weren’t a duo to be confined, some other tracks took a Dream Pop or Bedroom Pop approach. Even on their track ‘Biro’, the chorus contains a strong jungle influence.
The lead vocalist Daisy, sings with her accent, which isn’t always a noticeable aspect in British singers. This helps the music pop a little, especially in a niche like this one. Details like this show the duo aspired to make music authentic to them rather than chase a certain aesthetic. This is further shown by the fact that after 13 total songs released on Spotify, they retired the duo and started a new act heading in a different direction. Their new act is called ‘Bugbear’, but with no official streaming releases, we are waiting to see what comes next.
Primary genres
Electro Indie, Indie Pop, Bedroom Pop, Indie Rock, Folk
Crane Fly and Fable Songs
HIGHLIGHT TRACKS
Live performance of ‘Jackdaw’
The duo only have five videos posted, with this being the only live performance on their channel.
Crane Fly overview
‘Crane Fly’ and ‘Fable Songs’ are the two EPs the duo released while the act was active. With a total of 9 tracks between them, these projects contain the majority of their released songs. ‘Crane Fly’ has a very different sound as their first project.
Tracks such as ‘Borrowed Time’ are extremely soft; the chorus feels like a warm exhale. Very ethereal-sounding electronic elements and layered production make it feel this way. The verses have a Bossa-Nova-styled rhythm and instrumental. Lyrically, they bring a softer side than seen on other tracks, working alongside the instrumental rather than challenging it.
‘Lost’ is a little more traditional, although it isn’t what you hear on the radio, it’s more predictable than the rest. A very smooth verse and chorus, and slightly more sensual than their other tracks. This is a song centred around the vocals, which isn’t always the case in their music. But as with everything else they’ve released, the project can’t be boxed in so easily.
‘Biro’ has a jungle-themed chorus but an electronic instrumental on the verses. The pacing of this song is also faster than many others, making it one of the more lyric-heavy tracks. To visualise it, this song has no sharp edges. The vocal delivery is softly spoken, and all the instruments feel smoothed and rounded out. This diversity is expressed in both eps, just handled in different ways.
Fable songs overview
‘Fable Songs’ leans more into the Indie Rock and Indie Folk sound. Still carrying some of their Electro-inspired styles over, it does have a very different general sound from its predecessor.
‘Woodbone’ was the first single I heard from this EP, and my introduction to them as a whole. The keyboard inclusion is much stronger on this track, and the chorus has that folk-centred theme which wasn’t present in their earlier work.
‘Jackdaw’ has a very prominent acoustic guitar, which is designed for you to hear every little detail. The clinks of the strings and the movement over the frets are included for that extra intimacy. A very soft vocal delivery, with vocal distortions, work together to make a very personal-sounding track. Absent of heavy drums, this track fits into their own category of Electro-influenced Indie Folk.
‘The Herald And The Moose’ is a mostly traditional-sounding song for the first half. Dark sounds and a grand chorus are more predictable Indie Rock. Vocally, this section of the song is delivered in a less regulated fashion. Sounding dark at times, along with the unorthodox writing, is certainly an unnerving but engaging aspect. The second half of the track is where we get the return of the Bossa Nova style. Although we’ve heard this sound from them before, we haven’t heard it combined with their Indie Rock style.
Additional thoughts
With their focus now being shifted onto their new act, ‘Bug Bear’, we will have to wait to see how their new direction sounds. From their short-lived stint as ‘Idlework,’, I have been very impressed multiple times in completely different ways. The music that has come out of this group is some of the most interesting that I have heard in a long time. They’ve shown social activity on their new Instagram, so hopefully, that wait for their debut release ends this year. There are a few snippets on their Instagram to give an insight into how it could sound, but we are yet to get a clear picture.
New releases covered on our page
If there are any new releases covered on our page, there will be links below to take you to each one.
A collection of our favourites
