He met Idles bassist Adam Devonshire at sixth form college in Exeter before the two moved to Bristol, where they studied at the St Matthias Campus of the University of the West of England and decided to start a band.

[6] His music has been described as punk rock,[7] and post-punk,[8] especially due to its passionate nature and political lyrics, which have criticized right-wing news networks such as Fox News and The Sun,[6] (during the Joy tour, Talbot was known to shout "Don't read The Sun, it'll give you cancer" at shows before the closing song, Rottweiler) and outlined social issues such as depression, white privilege,[9] and toxic masculinity.

[17] In 2020, he collaborated with Jehnny Beth for her debut solo album, To Love Is to Live, co-writing and recording vocals on the track "How Could You".

Talbot also sang guest vocals for fellow Bristolians Turbowolf on the track Capital X from their 2018 album The Free Life.

[18] He cites LCD Soundsystem, The Strokes, The Streets, Thom Yorke, Battles, The Walkmen, Joy Division, The Horrors, and The Fall as influences.

I want to sleep at night knowing that my platform is the voice of reason and an egalitarian want for something beautiful - not the murder of Black people, homophobia at the workplace, racist front lines.