IDLES’ ‘Joy as an Act of Resistance’ Turns Rage Into Something Tender

Joy as an Act of Resistance is IDLES doing exactly what the title promises. The Bristol five-piece takes the raw, confrontational energy of their debut and aims it at a wider target: masculinity, nationalism, grief, and the everyday cruelty of modern Britain. It is loud, funny, and unexpectedly tender. The record does not ask for your attention. It demands it, and it earns it.

Colossus Opens the Fight

The album opens with “Colossus,” a slow-building track that starts as a spoken-word meditation on fear before erupting into a full-throated scream. It is the band’s thesis statement: patience, tension, and release.

“Never Fight a Man With a Perm” follows with a swaggering, riff-heavy attack on toxic masculinity. It dismantles the idea of the “real man” with sharp, sardonic lyrics. “I’m Scum” is shorter and sharper, a self-deprecating punk anthem that turns shame into a badge of honor.

Danny Nedelko and the Middle Stretch

“Danny Nedelko” is the album’s beating heart. Named after a friend of the band, it is a celebration of the outsider and the immigrant, built for shouting in a crowded room. It is the most anthemic thing here. “Love Song” is a nasty, distorted take on romance — all teeth, no sweetness.

“June” shifts the mood entirely. Written about the stillbirth of frontman Joe Talbot’s daughter, it is the quietest and most vulnerable track, a slow, aching elegy that lands harder because it is surrounded by so much noise. “Samaritans” tackles male emotional repression with a grim, grinding riff. It is one of the most direct and effective songs on the record.

Television, Great, and the Final Charge

“Television” and “Great” are shorter, punchier bursts of social commentary, the former skewering passive consumption and the latter attacking British nationalism with a sarcastic, shouted chorus. “Gram Rock” is a brief, percussive detour that feels like a palate cleanser. “Cry to Me” is a ragged, desperate cover of the Solomon Burke soul classic, stripped of its smoothness.

The album closes with “Rottweiler,” a track that is less a song and more a controlled demolition, with Talbot repeating the title word until it loses all meaning and becomes pure release.

The Verdict

Joy as an Act of Resistance runs 42 minutes, but it feels denser — packed with ideas, targets, and emotions. The lesser tracks, “Gram Rock” and “Television,” do not match the peaks of the middle section, but they do not drag the record down. They are part of the album’s momentum.

The record pairs its aggression with vulnerability and humor. That balance is what makes it work. Critics widely praised it as emotionally raw, cathartic, and politically charged punk, with most major outlets rating it very highly. Pitchfork was the notable outlier with a more mixed take.

The band has said the title is about joy as a political tool, a refusal to be beaten down. The music backs that up. It is a record that makes you want to smash things and then hug someone. That is a rare combination, and IDLES pulls it off.

1. The peaks: “Colossus,” “Danny Nedelko,” “Never Fight a Man With a Perm,” “June,” “Samaritans.”
2. The solid middle: “I’m Scum,” “Love Song,” “Cry to Me,” “Rottweiler.”
3. The lesser cuts: “Television,” “Great,” “Gram Rock.”

album review · Bristol · IDLES · post-punk · punk rock