Holy Fire

This is Foals’ third full length album, and wow is it good. Their sound still has its characteristic choppy, complex percussion, switching time signatures and huge builds, but it feel more seamless and effortless here. They’ve also gone in a bit of a garage/grungy direction (see 2, end of track 9) with much crunchier guitar and walls of percussion. There’s definitely a range of influences, from a bit of U2, to a chorus that sounds straight out of TV on the Radio on “Everytime” (#5), to the popier single “My Number” (#3), but overall this is a very well balanced album, with lots of expansive sound, sweet guitar hooks and a whole lot going on below the surface. FCC clean, try 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, or just the whole thing.

1. (4:08) Pensive guitar and bass open, bass drum kicks in and builds up, tense, distorted spoken voices sampled, chill solo guitar, drops off then comes back with established melody, almost no vocals
2. (4:53)*** Resolves tension of opener, finger licking/grooving guitar opening and interludes, expansive, half-shouted vocals come in, huge distorted guitar sound in chorus, tension resolves into grungy guitar hook, mid-tempo
3. (4:01)*** Danceable, can totally hear this being played at a summer arena, punchy lyrics about independence from a relationship, incredibly catchy, “ooh-ooh” chorus, falls off a bit towards the end but then builds back with layering, ends abruptly, so solid
4. (4:41)** Layered, complex synth melodies, crunchy bass foundation, upbeat, vocals reminiscent of U2, solo guitar hook, choppy drums and time signature changes in middle, very melodic
5. (4:02)* Spacey synth, blooming/diffuse guitar, jungle drums, multi-vocal, kind of falsetto/TV on the Radio chorus, lovelorn/yearning feel, more restrained sound
6. (5:28) Slow opening, quiet vocals build to raw half-shouting, mid-tempo rock jam with orchestral synth and lots of sustained chords, grungy guitar solo killin it
7. (3:25) Up tempo rock jam, diffuse synth chords, lots of key changes, very percussive, pretty, heavily layered with complex guitar licks beneath it all
8. (5:18)* Layered, percussive synth, woozy strings, hazy, dreamy vocals, interrupted by head-banging, handclapping chorus, builds, dance drop towards the end, expansive sound
9. (4:08)** Bluesy vocals, grungy/Black-Keys feel, lots of guitar, choppy, complex drums, sound a bit more paired down, layered vocals build tension, freak out ending, fades out
10. (4:49) Slower, exposed vocals with minimal percussion, soft-rock feel with more edge, lots of layered synth
11. (4:53) Pensive, raw vocals, guitar doodles, spacey synth interruptions, distant drum machine halfway through, tranquil, huge synth chords, glassy