IN REVIEW: Foals - "What Went Down"

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For their fourth record overall (and second for a major label), Foals expand on the panoramic ambitions of previous release Holy Fire with a set of tunes tailor made for entertaining the larger and larger crowds they've been pulling in. You can practically see the light show that builds in intensity alongside the gnashing title track, while Snake Oil brings a rock n' roll payoff akin to Kasabian's more edgy material. Closing track A Knife in the Ocean, meanwhile, finds them at their most majestic and bombastic.

The bulk of the album plays more into the group's traditional gifts of thick rhythms and bright melodies, as evidenced by current single Mountain At My Gates. That's not to say it's as infectious or poppy (read: divisive) as a track like My Number, just as there isn't anything on What Went Down that's as clearly designed as single material; Night Swimmers comes closest, but stays far enough off the beaten path to diffuse any serious pop-leaning criticism.

The feeling that lingers after a few plays of What Went Down is that the quality seems more evenly distributed; there's nothing here that screams "filler", but there isn't a lot that truly stands out from the crowd either. Whereas previous records inevitably had a few brilliant moments and a few shaky spots, this time out every song plays its part in shaping the experience as a whole. The result is a record that might not hit with the same impact as, say, Total Life Forever, but it's a more consistent, measured record that set out to do a job and does it capably.

August 28, 2015 • Transgressive/Warner Bros.
Highlights What Went Down • Snake Oil • Mountain At My Gates

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