Music discovery · Influence explorer

Artists like Idles — and the music that made them

Post-Punk · 2009-present

Brutally honest post-punk warriors fighting toxic masculinity with ferocious anthems

IDLES are a Bristol-based post-punk band who've revolutionized modern punk with their cathartic blend of crushing riffs and vulnerable, politically-charged lyrics addressing mental health, masculinity, and social issues. Led by Joe Talbot's confessional vocals and Mark Bowen's thunderous guitar work, they've become the voice of a generation seeking authenticity in an increasingly polarized world.

Essential tracks

►Mother

►Danny Nedelko

►Never Fight a Man with a Perm

Did you know

Guitarist Mark Bowen regularly performs completely naked and once crowd-surfed nude at Glastonbury

Their breakthrough song 'Mother' was written about frontman Joe Talbot's late mother who died from alcoholism

The band's name originally stood for 'Idiots Delight Light Entertainment Sounds' but they later simplified it

“Brutally honest post-punk with therapeutic vulnerability and working-class anthemic fury.”

generations
of influence

Influence tree

Trace Idles's roots back through history

Every sound has a source. Click any node to hear the connection.

IDLES

2009-present

Sleaford Mods

2007-present

cited

Fat White Family

2011-present

cited

The Fall

1976-2018

cited

Gang of Four

1977-2011

sonic

Shame (70s band)

1977-1981

sonic

Wire

1976-present

movement

Sex Pistols

1975-1978

movement

The Clash

1976-1986

movement

↑ Click any influence node to see the connection and where to start listening.

What makes the sound

Sonic elements

Repetitive mantras and chanted vocals

Driving punk rhythms with post-punk bass lines

Cathartic emotional release through aggression

Spoken-word delivery mixed with melodic singing

Start with these tracks

Colossus

Never Fight a Man with a Perm

Danny Nedelko

Model Village

If you like Idles, try these

Fontaines D.C.

They share aggressive post-punk energy with literary British working-class perspectives.

2010s · Post-Punk

Shame

Both deliver frantic post-punk with raw emotional honesty and political edge.

2010s · Post-Punk

Protomartyr

They match IDLES' intellectual brutality with spoken-word vocal delivery over driving rhythms.

2010s · Post-Punk

Squid

Both bands blend post-punk aggression with experimental arrangements and British social commentary.

2010s · Post-Punk

Dry Cleaning

They share deadpan vocal delivery over angular post-punk with observational British lyricism.

2010s · Post-Punk

Black Midi

Both create intense, cathartic music that balances chaos with precision and British wit.

2010s · Math Rock

About this page

Music like Idles — IDLES are a Bristol-based post-punk band who've revolutionized modern punk with their cathartic blend of crushing riffs and vulnerable, politically-charged lyrics addressing mental health, masculinity, and social issues. Led by Joe Talbot's confessional vocals and Mark Bowen's thunderous guitar work, they've become the voice of a generation seeking authenticity in an increasingly polarized world.

Artists like Idles today include Fontaines D.C., Shame, Protomartyr, Squid. If you enjoy Idles, these artists share similar sonic qualities, influences, and emotional range.

Bands like Idles and songs like Idles are among the most searched music discovery queries — rootz.guru goes deeper by tracing the roots of the sound itself, not just surface-level similarity.