Skip to main content

IN REVIEW: Foals - "What Went Down"


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

Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Year in Rock 2025

  Alright, I've got some explaining to do.   By now anyone who's visited this blog is well aware of how infrequently I've used this space in recent years; aside from the occasional fertile year of content, I really haven't posted all that often over the last five years or so. There are many reasons for this, which have already been outlined in previous apology posts; but, essentially, it boils down to my own laziness and the cold reality that blogs are, like Refused (again), fucking dead. So, I wouldn't hold my breath for a triumphant return to reviews, or even semi-regular posts, but:   a) I feel like Year in Rock posts have always belonged here and, even though I've experimented with different methods of presentation recently and been satisfied, the "blink and you missed it" unveiling via Facebook stories this year was perhaps ultimately a disservice to the records I lauded. After all, cramming the list into short videos isn't too far off from ju...
Post a Comment
Read more

Year in Rock 2014: And the Winners Are...

It's been a long year, and another great one for rock n' roll. While the pop charts were overrun with barely legals obsessed with their asses, rock soldiered on undeterred even as pundits (hell, in some cases even rockers themselves) mourned the genre. Sure, rock didn't dominate the money game in 2014, but that shouldn't evoke sad nostalgia and eulogies. Even for as little perceived impact rock music made, a hell of a lot happened if people had only paid attention. From grizzled vets adding jewels to their crown (Springsteen, Petty) to new beginnings (Against Me!, Antemasque) to happy returns (Faith No More, The Tea Party) and all points in between, rock continued to thrive, evolve and thrill in 2014. Enough talk. It's winning time. Your Year in Rock winners for 2014 are...
Post a Comment
Read more

Headstones Are Getting It Right. And By "It", I Mean "Everything".

When Headstones announced they were finally getting together for a new record (a decade since they'd released one, as the band drifted apart and Hugh Dillon's acting career began to pay dividends), they did so by letting their fans get in on the ground floor. Headstones got self-promotion right. They started accepting pledges toward the funding of the new record on October 19th at their official Pledge Music site , with pledge items ranging from $10 (digital download of album) and $5,000 (a private Headstones unplugged show for you and your friends). Within a day, they'd reached 90% of their goal; as of this writing, they sit at 283% reached. Headstones got funding right. With a planned release date of March 26 looming, something happened. They messed around and got a record deal after a subsidiary of Universal Music (who had originally signed the band back in '92) loved what they heard, and wanted to release it worldwide. The logistics of these things tend to...
3 comments
Read more