Foals

Foals are one in a myriad of up-and-coming British indie bands promoting a new and diverse sound, and like many before (and to come), are as likely to fade into obscurity as hit the big time. 2008´s "Antidotes" was the sound of a young band discovering their sound: veering wildly from catchy pop riffs to near-silly lyrics, often in the same track (The French Open, for example, fused words from a French perfume ad to a particularly infectious tune), "Antidotes" promised a lot without actually entirely delivering. Coupled with the groups fast growing cult following - as much to do with the bands willingness to literally play anywhere as frontman Yannis Phillipakis´ offbeat behaviour - and Foals had as much chance to hit the big time as crash and burn in record time.

Two years on, and Foals now present "Total Life Forever", 11 tracks recorded and written between the UK and Sweden over a period of about a year. Opening with "Blue Blood", a haunting string riff leading into Yannis near-chanting opening lines, and it is clear TLF is a big step up for the band. Despite a slow start, "Blue Blood" quickly drops into classic Foals basslines and weaving arrangements, somehow taking the immature sound from before and pushing into the territory of early Radiohead. Clearly the band have put a great deal of effort into building each track from a palette of multiple layers: whilst it is still easy to hear the influence of bands such as Bloc Party or Battles, subtler artists such as Sigur Ros have obviously made their mark too, as judged by the albums overall ethereal sound and texture.

TLF, however, is not an album so easily pigeonholed: "Blue Blood" gives way to "Miami", easily summed up as "the best song The Cure never wrote". Throbbing bass, and Robert Smith-esque vocals lead into a catchy chorus with a tight piano overtures, with the subtle undertone of melancholy that made The Cure such a huge cult band. The sound is still undeniably Foals, however, and leads straight into singalong territory with the title track, "Total Life Forever", replete with chant-along-a-Yannis chorus and break. Next up is "Black Gold" which starts as a simple piece of throwaway indie, before swelling into something far more textured - chugging basslines, mandolins and clean-yet-echo-heavy guitar riffs melt over one another, with the boys singing harmonies straight from A-Ha´s repertoire (in the best possible way).

All of this is still, however, only build up to the Foals best track yet - "Spanish Sahara". Starting from simple piano notes and Yannis softly singing, "Spanish Sahara" slowly builds into a song of epic proportions, yet still retains the core Foals sound: if evidence were needed of the bands maturity, this is it. This song alone proves that Foals are ready to step up from cult band to the big time, and stand next to bands such as Elbow or Muse for their ability to create a sweeping drama of musical arrangement. Luckily, Yannis and co seem (for the most part) to have the ability to reign in the sounds before it all gets too silly.

The rest of the album follows the mis-match trend: "This Orient" could have been used in any quirky technology ad of the last five years, popping guitar stabs across simple dance beats and easy lyrics; "Fugue" is a short interlude of piano and white noise bordering on prog-lite; and "After Glow" serves as the clearest anchor between TLF and Antidotes, capturing the "math-rock" sound heard on "Mathletics" or "Big Big Love". The album rounds out with "Alabaster", a near Duran Duran copy, yet still decent listening; "2 Trees" slides into a mellow blend of trancey drums, more mandolin and swishing keyboards, and the final track "What Remains", another swelling epic that feels like the band finally closing the album with a bang.

"The sound of a band coming-of-age" and "bypassing the tricky second album syndrome with ease" are two clichés that apply quite well to TLF, but there is more to the album than that. This is the sound of a true group of musical masters finding their feet, with the occasional small stumble clearly rectified with a masterful layering of sounds and textures. Total Life Forever takes the mish-mash of sounds that made Antidotes so popular and polarises them into something more coherent and listenable, creating a great album in the process. The influence of both Sweden and its musicians hangs over the whole affair without ever oppressing Foals´ sound; instead, Yannis and co. have created a piece of work to be proud of that is undeniably their own. Improving with every listen, Total Life Forever cements Foals as more than a passing fad; instead, we have an album that hits far more than misses, and manages to be a approachable without losing the cool indie edge.