Taking inspiration from the similarly titled 2008 poem by Toi Derricotte, Joy as an Act of Resistance tells stories from lead singer Joe Talbot's troubled past.

Joy as an Act of Resistance peaked at number 5 on the UK Albums Chart and spawned two official singles: "Danny Nedelko" and "Never Fight a Man with a Perm".

[8] Bob Boilen, writing for NPR, sat down with singer Joe Talbot for a track by track analysis of the album where Talbot described why he chose to write about his troubled past, the inseparability of the human portrait and political song, love, the death of his stillborn daughter and what it means to call oneself a parent, toxic masculinity, Brexit, his hate of tabloid journalism and more.

[18] Dave Simpson, for The Guardian gave it four stars, describing it as "11 songs of focused, cathartic rage, rooted in their own experiences", and calling Idles "Britain’s most necessary band".

"[8] Classic Rock magazine gave it the same score, calling it "a heart-breaking but jubilant exploration of joy, honesty, fragility and expression as our most powerful means of human resistance".

Punk Rock reinvented and not wearing a mask of masculinity or yoke of tradition, but a wicked smile and its broken heart exposed but still beating in its chest.

"[24] Jake Kennedy, for Record Collector, gave it four stars, calling it "an album that manages to combine grief, self-loathing and a realisation that life’s better played honest, with a fine-tuned, brutal sound: something like bent sheet metal being hammered straight.

applauded the album, saying, "IDLES turn trauma and anger into affirming lessons on Joy As an Act of Resistance, crafting a cathartic masterpiece that wears its heart — broken, but still beating — on its sleeve.