IDLES at Liverpool Arena: Love and defiance from the stadium-shaking heroes

Joe Talbot knows exactly where he is as the IDLES frontman thunders with his usual air of authority: “Don’t read The Sun, it will give you cancer.” With that particular tabloid forever eclipsed in this city (in the wake of the lies it spread after the Hillsborough disaster), the frontman thumps his heart and adds, “I thank you for reminding me of such philosophy.”

It’s a beautiful moment just before the band launch into ‘I’m Scum’, the first generational anthem to ignite the arena floor into a joyous mosh pit tonight. Having taken this show to just about every corner of the planet this year off the back of their fifth album ‘TANGK’, IDLES are more than well-versed in such matters as they deliver a set that spans their entire career to date. 

Tonight, the Bristol heroes are still riding high following their chart-topping latest LP, which arrived like a bruising battle-cry at the start of the year. Overflowing with the confidence and meaning we’ve come to expect from the five-piece, the record perfectly captured just how the giants have gone about maintaining their stadium-shaking status across the globe. Namely, because they’ve been determined to challenge themselves in breaking new ground with each output: where in the past Talbot may have preferred to punch home their values with spit and snarl, tonight he’s just as content to tenderly whisper the message on more absorbing, intimate moments, like the piano-led ‘IDEA 01’ or the painfully beautiful ‘Roy’.