Political Correctness is Just a Band..

After hearing that Total Life Forever was due out in early May I scraped together whatever loose change I could find under the bed and behind the sofa and bought it in anticipation of what I hoped would be the follow up album to the fantastic debut ‘Antidotes’ I’d been waiting for. Let crashing cymbals, tribal drum beats and catchy guitar-keyboard combinations commence.

What I got when the opener ‘Blue Blood’ began were the sound of softly played keys and the voice of Philippakis, slowly lamenting “You’ve got blood on your hands, I think it’s my own” rather than exalting some classic Foals ‘Cassius’-like lyric. The song picks up and the remnants of ‘Antidotes’ returns in the form of an ear-catching drum line but it far from being energetic and lively, it eases in quietly and builds up before falling back again as if to say ‘Yes we’ve arrived’ without arousing the ears of the ‘Bieberites’. The opener certainly hints that this is a more grown up album – one that serious fans will learn to love.

‘Miami’ is somewhat of a change of tone, however emanating from it through the soft strings and echoed vocals is that same sparse sense of quietness. The title inspiring song, ‘Total Life Forever’ is probably the song on the album in which the most definite remnants of ‘Antidotes’ can be heard. The quirky guitar is certainly comparable to previous songs such as ‘Like Swimming’ and ‘Two Steps Twice’ but their change of direction again shines through in that the background chant weaves in and out of the riff, creating a sense of complete involvement as every instrument fuses to create one.

“The future is not what it used to be, used to be” chimes the bridge of ‘Black Gold’. The follow up album is definitely proving to be a bit of a move away but once again there are the unmistakeable tones and influences of the debut album, albeit mixed in seamlessly with the new mature, quieter yet strangely louder and fuller sound. ‘Spanish Sahara’, the epic of the album at almost seven minutes introduces itself quietly like the shy new kid before dragging itself to the fore with some of the most beautiful lyrics you’ll hear this year and you feel that maturity shining through that Philippakis and the Foals have gained. “I’m the fury in your head, I’m the fury in your bed, I’m the ghost in the back of your head” certainly suggests an elevated level of experience.

The playful nature hasn’t gone forever though and is very much alive in ‘This Orient’ which at times makes you want to jump up and flail aimlessly as the drum builds and explodes into those crashing cymbals we all knew and loved. This is however followed by a brief, twisted interlude in ‘The Fugue’ almost as if they’re saying ‘Time to calm down now again, it’s about to get dark again’. ‘After Glow’ continues, the highlight being a massive crescendo of crashing and banging by drummer Bevan and a frantic following two minutes before following trend and coming down from euphoria to the cold, lonely sounding vocals once again come through, “Get up, don’t forget everything you cared for, there’ll be nothing more tomorrow..” continued in the following ‘Alabaster’, “She’s up in the sky and the skies on fire”. Detached and desolate the tracks flow effortlessly into each other.

The final two songs ‘2 Trees’ epitomise the more removed nature of the album, with atmospheric, spacey tones and the once again meandering vocals which are the signature of much of this album and the closer, ‘What Remains’ reincarnates the slow nature of the opener ‘Blue Blood’ but massive drum beat and a soulful reprise replace the tentative sounds of the first track. The finale holds images of rallying cries and slowly burns out, having extricated the extent of their new found maturity.

“Total Life Forever” is a more relaxed album than ‘Antidotes’ however its desolate, quieter nature has enabled them to express their more mature musical inclinations. The core of the Foals is still inevitably present throughout; the slamming and crashing, tribal drum beats are still there in essence and traces of the debut album float in and out of the music but they’ve trimmed off the exuberant, over-extroverted elements to leave a soulful centre which exudes soft, mellifluous melodies and a side to which they may not have been experienced enough to show until now.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iZ7Bue4km4A : the opener, 'Blue Blood', my personal favourite