Things won’t magically go back to ‘normal’ of course; pubs will reopen offering only indoor table service, and establishment owners will be asked to keep a record of customer details in aid of contact tracing. But one musician who we can thank for keeping us sane during the thirteen weeks since we last popped out for a pint is IDLES frontman Joe Talbot, whose online virtual talk show Balley TV has been offering the homely comfort of your local directly to your computer screen.

《《《 Balley TV 》》》

Free therapy? Virtual pub? Watch and you won’t learn a thing. All are welcome. Let’s hide in plain sight. Love.

Subscribe & set a reminder to watch at https://t.co/7cS8A8I0zT pic.twitter.com/8sswEKcBdT

— BalleyTV (@BalleyTV) May 28, 2020

Named after Talbot’s own label Balley Records, the show followed up May’s pilot with its second edition last Friday, featuring appearances from IDLES crew member Adam Greenwood, Chvrches singer Lauren Mayberry, and indie songwriter Hak Baker. As with the first episode (in which Talbot was joined by his bandmate Adam Devonshire in chatting to The Streets’ Mike Skinner and Pussy Riot’s Nadya Tolokonnikova), the guests’ video displays were propped up onto the faces of two gargantuan cuddly toys in a whimsical take on the post-COVID hang out that only a net-era punk host could pull off. Greenwood was hitched onto the face of a deeply unsettling manikin but frankly the less talked about the better. Watch the episode here:

Adding to the high calibre of musicians involved thus far, Talbot has made public the dates and guests for four more juicy interviews we can look forward to every other Friday (the full list is detailed below). All this coincides with the run-up to IDLES’ hotly anticipated third album Ultra Mono, which is set for release on the 25th of September via Partisan Records. You can preorder the album through IDLES’ website here, as well as buy tickets for a series of livestream gigs the band are doing to celebrate the release.

Balley TV Ep. 3 w/ Arlo Parks & Billy Bragg – Friday the 3rd of July

Balley TV Ep. 4 w/ Kate Tempest & Kenny Beats – Friday the 17th of July

Balley TV Ep. 5 w/ Ishmael Butler & Sharon Van Etten – Friday the 31st of July

Balley TV Ep. 6 w/ Jeff Ament (Pearl Jam), Jehnny Beth (Savages) & Fern Ford (The Big Moon) – Friday the 14th of August