Josh Barber Dives Into Idle Heirs' Debut Album, Touring With Cold + More

"I'm confused."

Josh Barber was honest when he was asked what ran through his head when he heard Idle Heirs' debut album, Life Is Violence, was picked as one of the best albums of 2025 by Loudwire.

"I was a Loudwire fan for a long time and then to get connected with you guys and to pick us as one of the top albums of this year, it's kind of wild."

Barber joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday (Dec. 16) to celebrate the album. You can listen to the full conversation in the player near the end of this article.

"I never thought we'd even be having this conversation," Barber admitted to host Chuck Armstrong.

"I have found that pure honesty on an emotional and creative level really can bring some cool opportunities to the table and I always try to encourage people to do that — the art that they make with me. But I hadn't done that with myself. So for us to lay our heart out on the line and be on a list like that, I'm confused. We're lucky."

Josh Barber Also Hit the Road With Cold This Year

In addition to diving into Life Is Violence, Barber also talked about a recent gig that found him on the road with Cold for their Beneath The Low Hum Tour.

"It was a phenomenal tour," he shared.

"Scooter [Ward] and the Cold camp, they've all become really good friends. You know, Scooter's a big fan of Idle Heirs and I don't typically go out and do front of house much anymore, but when Scooter asked me if I would do it, it just kind of made sense to go out and be with some friends for a little while."

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Barber typically finds himself in the studio as a producer and collaborator, so he welcomed the change of scenery as he hit the road across the country to help bring Cold's stripped-down tour to life.

"To see that band, who's so influential in a lot of people's lives, kind of do re-imagined versions [of songs]...it wasn't an acoustic tour. I think they did it amazingly."

What Else Did Idle Heirs' Josh Barber Discuss on Loudwire Nights?

• How he and Idle Heirs' singer and writer Sean Ingram ended up in Norway to record their debut album: "As a producer, I've been to a lot of killer studios, but I'm always the bridesmaid, never the bride. I wanted to go somewhere cool. And that was literally it ... Ocean Sound popped up and I go, 'Oh, that's the thing.' And then upon digging, I realized one of my favorite bands of all time, Cult of Luna, had done A Dawn to Fear there, I was like, 'Okay, this is a no brainer.'"
• Hints as to what he's working on next: "I'm waiting for things to get announced, but there's some really cool albums. [There is] a band I worked with form Germany, they got signed to Seasons of Mist, they just released a single. The band name is Unverkalt. It's awesome, awesome stuff. I'm trying to think what else I have coming out right now — a lot of irons in the fire, a lot of touring for me next year, a lot of albums."
• What's next for Idle Heirs: "[Life Is Violence] is not a one and done for Sean and I. We've already begun talking about the next album, what that might look like. We have a direction, Sean has a really cool idea and where he wants to soul search to make the lyrics and everything and so he's been sharing that with me and I've been doing some demoing here and there. Really, the main focus in '26 currently is touring ... We are looking at summer having some shows and then there's a couple of smaller festival things here and there that we're just trying to lock down."

Listen to the Full Interview in the Podcast Player Below

Josh Barber joined Loudwire Nights on Tuesday, Dec. 16; the show replays online here, and you can tune in live every weeknight at 7PM ET or on the Loudwire app; you can also see if the show is available on your local radio station and listen to interviews on-demand.