Random Thoughts of Nothingness: Album of the Month: FOALS

I've been waiting to write about this band for some time now but I thought I would wait until around the album release date for reasons that are evading me at the moment. The downside of this is that most of you have probably already heard of Foals, sampled their music and decided whether you like 'em or not. If you are one of the select few who have not done so and maybe have never come across them (where have you been?), consider this another chance of many that are, have been and probably will be available to you.

So what's the deal? The band is a five-piece from Oxford, England. The music is danceable with heavy emphasis on the rhythm section but the guitars are there too. Their genre is often labeled as 'math-rock,' a reference to the complex rhythm structures and vocal styling’s. While the history of Foals is by no means long, it has been an eventful few months. Last year saw the band release several singles including 'Hummer,' 'Mathletics' and 'Balloons,' a song that got them some attention.

Foals were eventually signed to Sub Pop in North America and will release their debut album Antidotes through them and on Transgressive Records in the U.K., where it has already been released. We get it on this side of the pond on April 8th. All of the songs here are pretty great and I can't think of a sleeper amongst them. Antidotes starts off with a bang, opening with the energy-filled ‘French Open.’ ‘Cassius’ was a great choice for a first single. Not only is it a great song but it also gives you a feel of exactly what Foals are about; but don’t ask me to summarize, it seems like an impossible task at the moment.

Anyways, the band will be touring for what seems like the rest of their lives. Check out their MySpace page for a list of dates. The band has also made two live recordings (‘Hummer ’and ‘Two Steps’) available for free download at their official website. Both were recorded from their show at Astoria in London.

Tracklisting
1. The French Open
2. Cassius
3. Red Socks Pugie
4. Olympics Airways
5. The Race For Radio Supremacy
6. Balloons
7. Heavy Water
8. Two Steps, Twice
9. Big Big Love (Fig.2)
10. Like Swimming
11. Tron