Despite the icy conditions a good number turned out to celebrate the release of Idly By’s new single ‘Talk Me Down’. The band tore through a high energy set of old and new songs, three of which will be on their forthcoming new album. They opened with ‘Come Unwound’ and then quickly hit us with a couple of great new ones – ‘Have a Nice Time’ and ‘Feed the Machine’. Both songs feature catchy tunes and strong instrumentals – excellent signs for the next album. The band ran through a selection of old favourites (‘Concerned Realists vs M&Ms’, ‘Have You Got Enough’, ‘Eat the Rich’, which featured trumpet, ‘Dagget’ and ‘Don’t Want You to Die’) before we got to the new single.

Singer/guitarist Leith James is a charismatic and hyper front man (see his punk jumps!) – he’s clever and quick witted as well as being empathetic. His advocacy for breaking the stigma around mental health issues comes through in his lyrics as well as in his banter between songs. New single ‘Talk Me Down’ illustrates this perfectly in the guise of a pop-punk banger that gets you thinking as much as it will make you want to dance.

Idly By are a great band to see live, and tonight they were augmented with Mat Morison on keyboards for the full set and Clarrie on trumpet for a couple of songs. Morison’s keyboards added a layer of lush melody to the sound while the trumpet enhanced the ska feel of ‘Eat the Rich’. Drummer Luke Davies and bass player Tom (it was his last show before leaving the band) are a versatile rhythm section, giving the punkier songs sharp energy and the slower songs a danceable lilt. The melodic interplay between the guitar and bass adds to the memorable and catchy nature of the material.

Though Friday night was the end of an era for the band, it was also the beginning of a new one. The new songs sound great and they were as energetic as ever – anticipation is growing for the new album!