music influence explorer
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.”
2
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.