It’s been a while since I last went to Glastonbury but, with the great BBC television coverage we get in the UK, I manged to watch many of the performances.

Out of these performances, IDLES really stood out with their message and energy. It made me come back to their first two album’s. I mustn’t have given them the attention they deserved when they came out, as they should have been considered – if not made – my albums of the year lists.

It would be easy to categorise IDLES as a modern take on “punk,” and I do agree that their songs feature many sounds that you would hear in that style of music. Their lyrics are angrily delivered and often politically pointed, which reminds me of the original punk movement.

But just like many of those original bands, punk was more a method of delivery than a genre. Many people would say The Clash are a punk band, and yet they have many songs that would be far better categorised as ska, dub, regge or rockabilly. Idles are the same; pushing their sound into into heavier and more progressive genre of music.

Idles have managed to create a music that resonates broadly in the world today, providing progressive messages of love and hope that are delivered in an antagonistic and rabble rousing way. It’s a sound that they deliver live with a raw energy that few bands achieve, and it can be seen even through the tiny screen of your mobile phone, or in the comfort of your home.

Below are several performances in case others get taken down and they’re all worth a watch along with one of my favorite tracks from their second album I’m Scum:

Idles Live performances:

Spotify:

TOTW Playlist: