ALL HAIL THE MIGHTY IDLES!
On the Idles website they have a t- shirt that says ‘ Hard rock for Pussies’ with a picture of a leaping tiger surrounded by bolts of lightning. This feral illustration sums up Idles beautifully.
In my opinion, Joe Talbot is the best frontman doing it. He may be the only one doing it right now.
If you Google best Frontmen of the last ten years the Gemini AI overview answer includes names like Harry Styles, Kendrick Lamar and Taylor Swift. Taylor Swift is… Yes, confirmed… a woman and if you want to consider One Direction a band go ahead. For me I don’t think they fit into that definition.
Sorry Harry, I do love your solo stuff.
The mighty Idles band from Bristol lead by Joe Talbot is at the forefront of the modern punk revolution. Tearing down the standards of old outdated ways of thinking and closed mindedness. The opposite way of what you might think this type of music is really saying. With the release earlier this year of their 5th studio album Tangk (Fantano didn’t give it much love) Idles, already a voice for the disillusioned, has become a voice for love in a way that is not conventional for an album of love songs.. They are not afraid to tell you how they feel.
With Joe Talbot’s energy, rawness, and courageous song writing Idles cuts right to the chase challenging toxic masculinity (damn maybe Harry is a frontman after all) with songs like Colossus and Never Fight a man with a Perm and societal norms with lyrics like “The best way to scare a Tory is to read and get rich!” While giving love songs a new look.
Idles’ music is a collision of noise, energy, and emotional intensity—and at the heart of it is Talbot’s voice.
For someone like me who is now a father to a daughter, the opposition to toxic masculinity and support of feminism in Talbot’s lyrics is stimulating and maybe even a little helpful? Listening to Idles sort of has this cheat code-like feel. It smacks you in the face and brings up your adrenaline to Limp Bizkit Woodstock 99 type levels. It will make you want to jump around the room and destroy your house. But underneath all of that there is a tenderness, empathy and love there that tugs you back and says ‘Hey brother this is all love no need to destroy. Let’s dance and have fun.’
At its core, this way of thinking is what Punk is truly about. Challenging the status quo and opening your eyes to different ways of thinking. Joe Talbot embodies this ethos but in a way that is unique to the social landscape. Vulnerable and with political fierceness Talbot and Idles is reinventing punk for a new generation.
In his interviews and especially while promoting this recent record Tangk, Talbot has said he has had to challenge himself more and to step out of his comfort zone. Look inward and dismantle old patterns and thoughts. Through his music and his words Talbot offers us something rare in the current cultural climate: the belief that we are all connected, that our struggles are not isolated, and that transformation is always possible.
In a world where so much feels fractured and divisive, Joe Talbot’s work with Idles is a call to arms for kindness, solidarity, and defiance. He doesn’t just critique the status quo; he reimagines it, urging us all to speak, and feel — without apology.
WE’RE NOT THE FUCKING JONAS BROTHERS!
LOVE IS THE FING!!
thetownmile.com 