Photo credit: Tom Ham
Punk band, Idles, have contributed four original tracks to Darren Aronofsky’s upcoming film, Caught Stealing. The new movie will be released theatrically by Sony Pictures on August 29. Taking from the soundtrack, the band have unleashed their new single, “Rabbit Run,” through Protozoa/Partisan Records, along with a lyric video. Check it out below and find more information.
Stream “Rabbit Run” here: https://idles.lnk.to/rabbitrun
Idles frontman Joe Talbot says: “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. But 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. 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.”
Darren Aronofsky on the collaboration: “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.”
Idles also recorded the full film score, composed by Rob Simonsen (The Whale, Deadpool & Wolverine), including a cover of the Junior Marvin-penned “Police and Thieves,” covered by The Clash on their 1977 self-titled debut album.
Rob Simonsen adds: “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 pallette 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 and Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler, Black Swan) quickly formed a creative kinship, united by a deep mutual respect for each other’s work. When Aronofsky began developing Caught Stealing he turned to his favorite band to shape the film’s sonic identity. Together, Idles, Aronofsky, and Simonsen formed a uniquely exhilarating collaboration, pushing and pulling from one another’s areas of expertise to elevate the greater whole. Like many of the band’s best songs, lead track “Rabbit Run” is a lean, anxious punk ripper that starts in a panic and ends in defiance. Fueled by minimal, motorik drums and distorted guitars, it mirrors the film’s central theme of confronting fear head-on. Talbot barrels through like a man being chased, until he turns and charges straight into the fire.
In Caught Stealing, Hank Thompson (Austin Butler) was a high-school baseball phenom who can’t play anymore, but everything else is going okay. He’s got a great girl (Zoë Kravitz), tends bar at a New York dive, and his favorite team is making an underdog run at the pennant. When his punk-rock neighbor Russ (Matt Smith) asks him to take care of his cat for a few days, Hank suddenly finds himself caught in the middle of a motley crew of threatening gangsters. They all want a piece of him; the problem is he has no idea why. As Hank attempts to evade their ever-tightening grip, he’s got to use all his hustle to stay alive long enough to find out.
Caught Stealing is directed by Aronofsky from a screenplay by Charlie Huston, based on his book of the same name. The film stars Austin Butler, Regina King, Zoë Kravitz, Matt Smith, Liev Schreiber, Vincent D’Onofrio, Griffin Dunne, Benito Martínez Ocasio, and Carol Kane. Watch the official trailer here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6mIvD-GN-p4
Earlier this year, Idles were nominated for three Grammys – Best Rock Album, Best Rock Song and Best Rock Performance – for their fifth album, TANGK. It was the band’s second #1 on the Official U.K. Album Chart, following 2021’s two-time Grammy-nominated Crawler.
Caught Stealing Official Soundtrack tracklisting:
01 6th and A
02 Doom
03 Kim’s Video
04 Tompkins Square Park
05 5th Floor Walk Up
06 Walk/Don’t Walk
07 Loisaida
08 Cheerleader
09 Coper
10 Flushing, Queens
11 Police & Thieves
12 Bay 15
13 Blessings and Successes
14 Alphabet City
15 Under the EL
16 Rabbit Run
CONCERT REVIEW: Idles – Sprints – Glass Beams Live at Release Fest Athens
The band will play their biggest hometown shows to date in Bristol, U.K., when they headline a two-day block party in Queens Square on Aug 1 and 2. Afterward, they’ll support Deftones and My Chemical Romance in stadiums and arenas and will also appear at Riot Fest in Chicago and Shaky Knees in Atlanta. See all tour dates below.
Idles 2025 tour:
8/1 – Bristol, UK – Queens Square
8/2 – Bristol, UK – Queens Square
8/15 – Winterthur, CH – Steinberggasse
8/16 – Hasselt, BE – Pukkelpop
8/17 – Charleville-Mézières – Cabaret Vert
9/7 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park w/ My Chemical Romance
9/8 – Montreal, QC – Bell Centre w/ Deftones
9/10 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena w/ Deftones
9/11 – Baltimore, MD – CFG Arena w/ Deftones
9/13 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center w/ Deftones
9/15 – Denver, CO – Ball Arena w/ Deftones
9/17 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center w/ Deftones
9/19 – Atlanta, GA – Shaky Knees
9/21 – Chicago, IL – Riot Fest
Idles is:
Joe Talbot – Lead vocals
Mark Bowen – Lead guitar
Lee Kiernan – Rhythm guitar
Adam Devonshire – Bass
Jon Beavis – Drums