IDLES

IDLES formed in Bristol in 2009 and spent nearly a decade playing to indifference before Brutalism (2017), written in the aftermath of frontman Joe Talbot's mother's death, established the band's confrontational, cathartic sound: Mark Bowen and Lee Kiernan's blunt-force guitars, Adam Devonshire's bass, Jon Beavis's drums, and Talbot's bellowed, unguarded vocals turning grief and rage into something that felt communal rather than merely aggressive.

Joy as an Act of Resistance (2018), written in the shadow of his infant daughter's death, expanded the band's scope to immigration, mental health, and masculinity without softening any of the volume — "Danny Nedelko" named a real friend of the band as the hero of a pro-immigration singalong, while "Samaritans" dismantled toxic masculinity using the genre's own macho signifiers against themselves. Ultra Mono (2020) reached number one in the UK; Crawler (2021) pushed the sound further from straightforward punk. IDLES built one of British rock's most devoted modern fanbases — the self-organized "AF Gang" — on a formula of aggression paired with an unusually open-hearted, inclusive politics.