Foals - Antidotes
Related Artist:
Foals
Release Date: 24/03/08
Label: Transgressive
Rating: 8/10
A defining factor of the Foals directive is their ability to move people. Physically, not in a stirring of emotions. Any one of their live shows is a characteristically erratic escalade of funk-punk groove, and everybody, including the band’s guitarists, Yannis Philippakis and Jimmy Smith, has a fit. A good fit. Their critically-acclaimed quasi-recent singles, like 'Hummer' and 'Mathletics', tend to induce largely the same effect. A huge, religiously loyal fan base is the result, single-mindedly craving this strange, infectious new sound they call “math pop”. In this context, a lot of frequent listeners, most probably, will not like 'Antidotes'.
If you are a major fan of Foals (or have a penchant for a spot of internet theft), you would have heard the album about a month and a half ago when a version was leaked and posted like rabies on several forums. The general consensus from there was overwhelmingly negative; people complained that it lacked the older singles, was “slower”, “in dire need of fluidity” and, maybe as a consequence, was “completely unlike Foals”.
This is because 'Antidotes' is a debut in the full sense of the word - it’s an album that will sound completely new, fresh, almost foreign to the most serious of fans. Such is the notion of untarnished creativity and innovation that adorns the majority of the newer songs on 'Antidotes', so different to a dynamic the band might have flaunted onstage or in previous styles and so running the risk of alienating some of the less open-minded enthusiasts in the process.
Still, fan’s complaints about many staple Foals tracks becoming waterlogged and tenuous aren’t completely ungrounded. The album’s opener, the 'French Open', for instance, has lost tempo and its original skeleton, to the extent that it becomes simply a forgettable recitation of words from a lacoste advert. It won’t move anyone in quite the same way anymore. True, some will find that their most anticipated album renditions of known songs have been put in a cage, given a tuxedo and told to shut up. The lack of vocals by the Lovecats on new 'Balloons', for one, teamed with the occasionally shoehorned brass section, might raise some concerns.
Nevertheless, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A change in pace in some of the songs may make the album accessible to a wider audience. The album’s less impressive tracks can also train attention on 'Antidotes'’ crowning achievements. For instance, a self-orchestrated take on Dave Sitek’s sketchy production job augments the atmosphere and aesthetic created by Red Socks Pugie, a thundering ode to destruction only enhanced by drummer Jack Bevan’s intricacy behind the kit, followed almost logically by the tweaked 'Olympic Airways', arguably the most comfortably listenable track on the album, championing the virtues of simple beats, lucid guitars and minimal rhythm that give way to a rare, yet much appreciated resurgence of the old overtly frivolous demi-dance style Foals had become synonymous with. The brass contributions of the NYC collective antibalas are completely at home on 'Tron', an ordered skirmish between Edwin Congreave’s synths and the mass of older instruments and musical influences culminating to create a sound very much evolved, yet very much typical of an ever-fluctuating band. Two steps, twice, meanwhile, is granted a much-deserved delicate polish, and so retains its fierce energy and titillating funk.
Since the majority of fans have been weaned into a tradition of fast-paced, beat-driven music associated with Foals, it can’t be expected that 'Antidotes' will be liked immediately. Like any transitional project, the album falls short of somewhat overstated expectations in some respects, yet shines in many others. Discard any pre-conceived notions of similarities to bands like Bloc Party or Battles - 'Antidotes' injects the band into an abstract, self-developed tier of their own, one which listeners - with time - will come to appreciate.
Karim Maksoud
Foals Myspace
Buy Foals CDs | Buy Foals mp3s | Buy Foals Tickets | Buy Foals Merch
Release Date: 24/03/08
Label: Transgressive
Rating: 8/10
A defining factor of the Foals directive is their ability to move people. Physically, not in a stirring of emotions. Any one of their live shows is a characteristically erratic escalade of funk-punk groove, and everybody, including the band’s guitarists, Yannis Philippakis and Jimmy Smith, has a fit. A good fit. Their critically-acclaimed quasi-recent singles, like 'Hummer' and 'Mathletics', tend to induce largely the same effect. A huge, religiously loyal fan base is the result, single-mindedly craving this strange, infectious new sound they call “math pop”. In this context, a lot of frequent listeners, most probably, will not like 'Antidotes'.
If you are a major fan of Foals (or have a penchant for a spot of internet theft), you would have heard the album about a month and a half ago when a version was leaked and posted like rabies on several forums. The general consensus from there was overwhelmingly negative; people complained that it lacked the older singles, was “slower”, “in dire need of fluidity” and, maybe as a consequence, was “completely unlike Foals”.
This is because 'Antidotes' is a debut in the full sense of the word - it’s an album that will sound completely new, fresh, almost foreign to the most serious of fans. Such is the notion of untarnished creativity and innovation that adorns the majority of the newer songs on 'Antidotes', so different to a dynamic the band might have flaunted onstage or in previous styles and so running the risk of alienating some of the less open-minded enthusiasts in the process.
Still, fan’s complaints about many staple Foals tracks becoming waterlogged and tenuous aren’t completely ungrounded. The album’s opener, the 'French Open', for instance, has lost tempo and its original skeleton, to the extent that it becomes simply a forgettable recitation of words from a lacoste advert. It won’t move anyone in quite the same way anymore. True, some will find that their most anticipated album renditions of known songs have been put in a cage, given a tuxedo and told to shut up. The lack of vocals by the Lovecats on new 'Balloons', for one, teamed with the occasionally shoehorned brass section, might raise some concerns.
Nevertheless, it isn’t necessarily a bad thing. A change in pace in some of the songs may make the album accessible to a wider audience. The album’s less impressive tracks can also train attention on 'Antidotes'’ crowning achievements. For instance, a self-orchestrated take on Dave Sitek’s sketchy production job augments the atmosphere and aesthetic created by Red Socks Pugie, a thundering ode to destruction only enhanced by drummer Jack Bevan’s intricacy behind the kit, followed almost logically by the tweaked 'Olympic Airways', arguably the most comfortably listenable track on the album, championing the virtues of simple beats, lucid guitars and minimal rhythm that give way to a rare, yet much appreciated resurgence of the old overtly frivolous demi-dance style Foals had become synonymous with. The brass contributions of the NYC collective antibalas are completely at home on 'Tron', an ordered skirmish between Edwin Congreave’s synths and the mass of older instruments and musical influences culminating to create a sound very much evolved, yet very much typical of an ever-fluctuating band. Two steps, twice, meanwhile, is granted a much-deserved delicate polish, and so retains its fierce energy and titillating funk.
Since the majority of fans have been weaned into a tradition of fast-paced, beat-driven music associated with Foals, it can’t be expected that 'Antidotes' will be liked immediately. Like any transitional project, the album falls short of somewhat overstated expectations in some respects, yet shines in many others. Discard any pre-conceived notions of similarities to bands like Bloc Party or Battles - 'Antidotes' injects the band into an abstract, self-developed tier of their own, one which listeners - with time - will come to appreciate.
Karim Maksoud
Foals Myspace
Buy Foals CDs | Buy Foals mp3s | Buy Foals Tickets | Buy Foals Merch
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