foals - total life forever...
“Antidotes “(Foals’ debut record) was most probably one of, if not my absolute favorite release of 2008. It was a collection of intelligently crafted and knee jerk inducing indie rock songs that were just irresistible in their distinctiveness and often sheer pop credentials...
It matched Bloc Party’s stunning debut Silent Alarm and has since surpassed it in my books. So when I received this highly anticipated follow up from the Oxford quintet I was hoping and praying that it matched the first effort, and they had not gone along the same path as Bloc Party with the two records coming after not coming anywhere near to matching the debut. Having already been waiting to get this into my hot little hands for some time now, due in part to the wondrous video for the exceptionally epic “Spanish Sahara”, I have been completely satisfied with what the boys have produced. Their sound has broadened and transformed so much that you can hardly believe that you’re listening to the same band. Gone are the epileptic fit like qualities and hoarsely barked vocals of Antidotes.
The sound is richer, fuller and overall grander on “Total Life Forever” while the lead singer Yannis Philippakis is now actually singing instead of simply shouting and howling. All of these changes could have been risky for the group to carry out, but it has paid off in bucket loads and has enabled them to produce an even better album than their first. In saying this, the transformation is not a complete shift away from what they became known for doing though. There is still the highly-strung twin guitar onslaught that weaves in and out of each other, providing soaring and jittery melodies. The drumming is also still equally as technical and driving albeit slightly less frantic.
The album kicks off to the peaceful sounds of “Blue Blood” where Yannis Philippakis croons “You’ve got blue blood on your hands, I think it’s my own”. The drums then come in around the 1:30 minute mark to create something of an indie dance anthem. Who knows what he’s on about, but then again when have Foals’ lyrical meanings ever been crystal clear? Other such oddities, (lyrics-wise) include “They gouge you out, they dug you in, they took the words right out of your mouth” in the dubby delay showered “Black Gold” and lines from “Spanish Sahara” such as “So I walked through the haze, and a million dirty waves, now I see you lying there, like a lilo losing air”. Very cryptic indeed. Apart from the words in “Spanish Sahara” though, everything else makes perfect sense. It begins in the quietest of fashions with a drifting dream like quality. It slowly but surely builds up over the first 4 minutes to a blockbuster climax with swirling keys and a cracking bass line that is simply extraordinary before it fades out again in the same way it built up in the first place. The perfect alternative anthem and easily my favorite song of 2010.
“This Orient” follows, and it’s a close second in the best tracks of the year for me. Using a certain loud quiet loud dynamic this song is full of quirky riffs and funky sounding drums in the verse while the chorus is elevating and distorted with the keys sounding similar to something reminiscent of a polyphonic ring-tone. Other awfully high highlights include the almost electronica “After Glow”, moody “2 Trees” and funked up “Miami”.
This is a truly great record with Foals really outdoing themselves this time round. The production is smooth, the ideas fresh and the band are just sounding like they are having fun playing and writing music. It’s hard to catergorise and put your finger on the type of music this band creates, but whatever you want to call it, its pure brilliance. Every song is good at the very least and they have certainly cracked the second album syndrome not doing a Bloc Party. If they had come out with another “Antidotes” it would have shown they were a limited group, but this record proves skies the limit for them and they have matured almost beyond recognition in the best possible way. Top album of the year? Can’t say yet, but its definitely going to be difficult to beat.
James Smith
