IDLES have shared a music video for “Model Village,” the new single off their forthcoming record Ultra Mono, set for release on Sept. 25 via Partisan Recrods. Acclaimed french filmmaker Michel Gondry—known for his work with Daft Punk, Radiohead, The White Stripes, Björk and more—directed the music video alongside his brother Olivier Gondry.
“Model Village” follows previous singles “Mr. Motivator,” “Grounds” and “A Hymn.” It’s a hard-hitting sendup of narrow thinking in small town life. “I hated growing up in a city that was really a town that was really a fishbowl,” frontman Joe Talbot says. “I left as soon as I could, only to realize the fishbowl didn’t exist…just the fish, and they’re everywhere.”
The song’s video incorporates a mix of 2D and 3D animation, involving collages of characters and shapes drawn and cut by Michel Gondry and brought to life through CGI from Olivier. “Olivier and I were excited to work on this because we use completely opposite techniques,” Michel said in a statement. “I work with a primitive system of cutting paper and moving it under the lens frame by frame. Olivier then transforms it by morphing, warping and CGI,” later adding, “Basically, in the first part we try to illustrate the lyrics as close as possible, to create the world, and then in the second half…they go to the moon.”
Talbot said of the video:
Michel’s work is handmade and it’s human and that’s something that our society pushes against: you need to be perfect. You need to look perfect and everything needs to be seamless and strong. But actually, vulnerability and naivety are strengths. To be vulnerable and to be naive is to have empathy. And so, to empathize with your adversaries and allow yourself to be naked on film or on record is a really strong thing to do. It liberates you and it also liberates your audience. That’s something that I hope that IDLES can do, and that Gondry’s been doing for years.
Watch the video for “Model Village” below.