For a band with a reputation built on their electric performance and inclusion, a record documenting their live show is oddly counterintuitive. Their performance is whole-hearted and explosive, no doubt, but Talbot's aptitude at making everyone feel special can only truly be felt live.
Beautiful Thing serves admirably as a brief glimpse of the band riding a career high, at a point where they've transitioned from industry favorites to fan favorites. The set moves from strength to strength, but honestly, this is to be expected, as they made very few missteps on their first two records.
Although this doesn't paint a complete picture, the recording does capture the added layers of dissonance and Talbot's erratic on-stage persona, as he switches from a snarling, sardonic showman to a political advocate to a humble bastion of the people; he proclaims, "I'm a feminist" directly before "Mother," but perhaps it's his effort to speak in French at regular intervals that best sums up
Idles' live appeal: they're always willing to take that extra distance. Their brand of catharsis is on full display at the Bataclan, a symbolic venue in many ways, and by extracting the negativity of the political landscape and channeling it back as love they provide a brief window into the healing nature of their music; in this case, they magnify it for an even wider audience, re-creating the sensation of being in the room, but nothing will top the crackling angst and sweat-soaked unity they so prominently facilitate. ~ Liam Martin