ORIGINAL RELEASE DATE: MAY 10TH 2010


The frequent disappointment of a band’s beleaguered sophomore album appears to have evaded Oxford’s Foals, following on the heels of a debut so well received by an adoring British music press. This is apparent one year on as much as it was when Total Life Forever was released on an unsuspecting public. Where Antidotes was immediate and the songs dictated by a strong sense of rhythmic guitars and high energy vocals, Total Life Forever feels stripped back, pared down and very much more concerned with its emotional core. There’s a consistent rhythm but it’s altogether different this time round;  a strong pulse is running through every song. Melodies are stronger with much more focus on actual singing as opposed to shouting and making a statement. At times it feels a lot more like straight up pop music, however uncool that may sound. Foals are clearly comfortable in their skin and possess a confidence that only comes through a strong dynamic between band members bouncing off each other.

Foals have expanded their sound in these ways yet there is almost a physical expanse inherent here. Blue Blood and Black Gold are clear examples of this, the latter deftly meandering through guitar solos that rise through a climactic outro and empty voids pushing upwards and outward. The pacing on this album feels intrinsically linked to how the listener is expected to enjoy it; I mean that, by all accounts, the reason I personally found this album so appealing (and continue to return to it one year later) is due to a palpable sense of familiarity. Like all great albums that require us to hit the repeat button, there is a clear divide between the first and second half. Spanish Sahara provides this appropriate bridge of the album as a whole, ideally with the most altruistic composition the band have produced thus far. There’s an emotional distinction that Foals demand of their listeners on Spanish Sahara that isn’t evident in most of their other material, and the magnificent climax four minutes in feels incredibly organic. Miami and the title track feel like expected results to please FM-hungry listeners yet the mastery of the former’s chorus and the latter’s infectious, repetitious hooks are stronger than almost anything that dominated indie music in 2010. The vocal harmonies on these two songs are their primary driving forces, too. Unlike a lot of bands who require catchy instrumentation and repetitious backing beats, Foals are adept in crafting finely-tuned hooks through often beautiful vocal melodies and understanding their significance as an instrument in itself.

As the album progresses it becomes clear that the sound they have developed here is becoming more pronounced. After Glow feels a little off the mark but there’s always Alabaster and the pivotal closer What Remains to bring the album back on track. The penultimate 2 Trees feels expressively like fireworks in the night, encapsulating the album artwork perfectly and spiralling into a different beast in the final minute, almost as if time itself were frozen. It could feel clichéd or even bloated if it didn’t sound so damn epic through headphones. Total Life Forever isn’t a perfect album by any means and it will take the less ardent listener a few successive spins before the quality of these tracks settle in. After a year with this album and seeing how well it has held up, it will be interesting to see what direction Foals take next. The most noteworthy change between now and then, however, is that they have established themselves. This record felt a bit like it came out of nowhere; no one anticipated such a leap, and as a result its successor will automatically be significant because of what came directly before it. It’s a daunting prospect but one feels that if anyone can pull it off it’s them.