Music discovery · Influence explorer

Artists like Idles — and the music that made them

Post-Punk Revival · 2009-present

Brutally honest post-punk warriors wielding vulnerability as their weapon

IDLES are a Bristol-based post-punk band who've revolutionized heavy music by combining crushing riffs with deeply personal lyrics about mental health, toxic masculinity, and social justice. Their cathartic blend of aggression and emotional openness has made them one of the most vital and influential bands of the modern punk revival.

Essential tracks

►Danny Nedelko

►Never Fight a Man with a Perm

►Colossus

Did you know

Frontman Joe Talbot wrote 'June' about his daughter who was stillborn

They were nearly dropped by their label before 'Joy as an Act of Resistance' became a breakthrough hit

The band's name comes from an acronym meaning 'Idiots Delight Love Everyone Equally'

“Brutally honest post-punk that transforms vulnerability into cathartic communal rage.”

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

Fugazi

1987-2002

cited

The Fall

1976-2018

cited

Metz

2008-present

sonic

Wire

1976-present

cited

Gang of Four

1977-2011

movement

Black Flag

1976-1986

sonic

The Clash

1976-1986

movement

Joy Division

1976-1980

sonic

Stiff Little Fingers

1977-present

movement

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

What makes the sound

Sonic elements

Joe Talbot's confessional shouted vocals

Heavy bass-driven rhythmic foundation

Explosive dynamics and cathartic builds

Bristol punk scene rawness

Start with these tracks

Mother

Danny Nedelko

Colossus

Never Fight a Man with a Perm

If you like Idles, try these

Shame

Fellow UK post-punk revivalists with similarly explosive live energy and social commentary.

2010s · Post-Punk

Fontaines D.C.

Dublin quintet sharing working-class themes and urgent guitar-driven post-punk sensibilities.

2010s · Post-Punk

Protomartyr

Detroit band with similar intellectual punk approach and baritone vocal delivery style.

2010s · Post-Punk

Squid

Experimental UK group blending post-punk with art-rock complexity and rhythmic innovation.

2010s · Post-Punk/Art Rock

Dry Cleaning

Spoken-word post-punk with deadpan British humor and unconventional vocal approaches.

2010s · Post-Punk

Sleaford Mods

Electronic-tinged UK duo sharing working-class rage and brutally honest social observations.

2010s · Post-Punk Electronic

Key influences explained

Fugazi

The angular guitar interplay and rhythmic precision of Fugazi's 'Repeater' era directly informs Idles' approach to post-hardcore dynamics, particularly evident in tracks like 'Mother' where Mark Bowen's guitar work mirrors Guy Picciotto's jagged counterpoint style. Ian MacKaye's political directness and DIY ethos provided a blueprint for Joe Talbot's confrontational yet vulnerable lyricism. This influence matters because it shows how Idles channel classic D.C. hardcore's intellectual aggression rather than mindless brutality.

The Fall

Mark E. Smith's repetitive, mantra-like vocal delivery and the band's controlled chaos heavily influenced Idles' rhythmic obsessiveness, especially on 'Brutalism' tracks like 'Well Done' where Talbot adopts Smith's hypnotic, percussive vocal style. The Fall's ability to make minimalist repetition feel urgent and political taught Idles that punk power could come from restraint as much as explosion.

Protomartyr

Joe Casey's baritone preaching style and Detroit post-punk's working-class anger provided a contemporary model for Idles' blend of intellectual politics and visceral emotion, particularly evident in the vocal approach on 'Joy as an Act of Resistance.' Protomartyr's 'Relatives in Descent' showed how modern post-punk could address mental health and masculinity with both brutality and nuance, directly prefiguring Idles' thematic concerns.

Context

Idles emerged from Bristol's tight-knit DIY scene in the mid-2010s, during a resurgence of politically charged British punk coinciding with austerity politics and Brexit anxiety. Unlike London's more trendy post-punk revival acts, they came from a working-class perspective that valued community over cool, developing their sound through years of squat shows and grassroots venues. Their formation coincided with a broader movement of British bands like Shame and Fontaines D.C. who rejected indie rock's middle-class politeness in favor of direct political engagement. This working-class punk revival represented a return to punk's original class consciousness after decades of gentrification.

Legacy

Idles pioneered a template for emotionally intelligent hardcore that influenced a wave of bands like Amyl and the Sniffers and Turnstile who balance aggression with vulnerability. Their approach to discussing toxic masculinity and mental health within punk contexts opened space for more nuanced political discourse in heavy music, moving beyond traditional punk's often simplistic rebellion.

Why it matters

Understanding Idles' influences reveals how they synthesized 40 years of post-punk evolution into a contemporary form that addresses modern anxieties while honoring punk's foundational values. Their careful study of bands like Fugazi and The Fall shows how they elevated simple punk structures through sophisticated understanding of dynamics and repetition. This knowledge transforms what might seem like straightforward aggression into a carefully constructed emotional architecture.

About this page

Music like Idles — IDLES are a Bristol-based post-punk band who've revolutionized heavy music by combining crushing riffs with deeply personal lyrics about mental health, toxic masculinity, and social justice. Their cathartic blend of aggression and emotional openness has made them one of the most vital and influential bands of the modern punk revival.

Artists like Idles today include Shame, Fontaines D.C., 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.