Antidotes (Special Edition) – Foals
RATING: 3.5/5
When I first listened to Foals over a year ago I could tell that they had the perfect balance of playing a similar style to the rising trends but having something extra to the rest of the dance indie bands out there. When I saw them a few months later in Brighton, I knew that they would be big. The tight combinations of high, staccato guitar riffs along with catchy melodies and brilliant vocals were even more entertaining to watch live than listen to on record. Unfortunately, when their album came out, the bubble (or balloon if you wish to make lyrical puns) was burst.
To be honest, this is a bit unfair. The album is not a bad album. It’s pretty solid and contains a lot of fantastic songs that they have not necessarily released as singles (in my opinion, that is always a good sign of the quality of the band). Furthermore, the bubble did not really burst when I heard the album since I had kind of been expecting something rather unspectacular for quite awhile on account of the songs I heard that had been leaked online. However, nonetheless it is always sad when such a eagerly anticipated album actually turns out to lack the spark you were expecting.
Once again, this isn’t a bad album by any stretch of the imagination. I want that to be clear. They are actually very adept at creating slow, powerful melodies that rival the catchy singles that had launched them to stardom. ‘Red Socks Pugie’ in particular is one of the stand-out tracks on the album. The fast, repetitive drums mixed with the slightly chilling chord progressions and intelligent vocals are sublime and it is the one song I can listen to over and over again. ‘Olympic Airways’ also shows Foals’ brilliant knack of taking rather simple riffs and combining them to create beautiful melodies and, just as you tend to with many of the greats, you wonder how someone (particularly you) couldn’t have come up with it before. The confidence to use harmonics for the majority of the song really demonstrates their ability and is perhaps an indication of how they have grown. Throughout the album there is a great sense of the songs being restrained. This may sound odd, but so often bands try to throw as much into the three of four minutes as possible. Foals, as so many good bands do, hold back trusting in the simpler riff and letting the combination of sounds build, making the emotional climaxes of the songs as strong as possible.
I would also advise that you actually get the special edition version of the album as well since it contains all the old songs you would have heard as well, such as Hummer, which I believe bands should tend to put into their first album. After all, that is why you started listening to them and so it is nice to hear those first songs that excited you so much as you listen to the album on your mp3 player. I’m nostalgic like that I guess.
However, the reason why I am slightly disappointed with this album is that while there is nothing fundamentally wrong with it, there is equally nothing that stands out as phenomenal. I believe Foals made a big mistake in the amount that they said about their upcoming album. In plenty of interviews we heard how this album was going to be completely different to anything you have heard from them before, that it would not have the old tracks on, would be quite dark and melancholic etc etc. I for one didn’t want their album to be really different to what I had heard so far mainly because what I had heard so far was why I liked them, obviously. However, what was even worse was that the album actually turned out not to be much different to any of their previous stuff. It is perhaps slightly more melancholic than you would expect if you had only heard ‘Hummer’ for example. However, most had actually heard a number of their songs and it was clear that they were able to creating slow, meaningful songs as it is what added so much depth to their more dancey numbers. I know this seems a bit harsh to say I didn’t want the album to be different and then complaining when it isn’t, but the point I am trying to make is that you shouldn’t go about making a big deal about doing something daring and different and then don’t do it.
The album, in fact, gets quite monotonous after the first couple of listens. While their high pitched guitar riffs are part of their signature sound, it tends to become a bit grating after while. Just as you commend them on the use of harmonics or some high riff, you move onto the next song and hear another, and then another, and then another ad infinitum. In other words, if you have the beginnings of a headache make sure you do not use this album to soothe you.
One more problem is the first track, ‘The French Open’. It just isn’t that good, probably the worst track on the album. It’s repetitive with the least intelligent vocals and thus puts you in an oddly ambivalent mood throughout. If you have been waiting for an album for ages and the first song you listen to on it kind of ignores you, then it puts you in a rather odd, critical mood for the rest of the album. The lesson to learn here is don’t put your worst song at the beginning of your album. It doesn’t help.
So, as I have said throughout, I am being quite critical. However, that is because Foals, both in their music and what they said in interviews, seemed to be promising one of the albums of the year. And it wasn’t. Unfair as it may be that just leaves me disappointed and we all know from our parents that that’s the worst emotion to feel.
