IDLES

A Beautiful Thing: IDLES Live At Le Bataclan PARTISAN

8/10

Righeous rabble-rousers charm Paris Bristol’s leading “don’t call us punk” quintet seem well suited to the task of reviving an old tradition. This Paris-recorded set from last December serves the traditional live album purpose, as a de facto sampler. But it’s also bookended by more relentlessly intense takes on their repertoire, particularly the first and last tracks from last year’s Joy Of An Act Of Resistance, “Colossus” and “Rottweiller”. The live setting and frontman Joe Talbot’s inter-song exhortations heighten the feeling of being sucked into communal catharsis, with their coruscating take on Solomon Burke’s “Cry To Me” redefining ‘tear-jerking’ as a form of tough-love therapy.