FoalsTotal Life Forever
Sub Pop Records [2010]
Fire Note Says: A large step forward for the Foals!
Album Review:
You just never know how a sophomore outing will go for a band after they have tasted success and for the UK's Foals, Total Life Forever comes off with a maturity well beyond the bands age. The group takes a risk and avoids the second album slump by expanding their sound, exchanging their previous punk vocals with a more focused singing and breaking out of the confinement of their tight song structures for a much more atmospheric loose free form. What rises up out of Total Life Forever is a confidence from this new direction, that immediately sells the listener on the idea. Their songs float beyond the six minute mark on more than one occasion and consistently have something going on to keep you entertained. The Foals smartly still retain their trademark guitars on Total Life Forever but the twist is, that they use them in a more complementing manner versus propelling each track along. With the combination of frontman Yannis Philippakis captivating vocals and the emotions that pour out of each of these tracks, it feels as if the Foals have taken a giant artistic step forward. What Total Life Forever really does for the Foals is take them to the next level, as they move from a breakthrough band to career band in just a short amount of time.
Key Tracks: "Spanish Sahara", "This Orient", "After Glow"
Bands With Similar Fire:
Doves
The Cure
Bloc Party
-Reviewed by Christopher Anthony
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