The Oxford band Foals have been on a trajectory of increased intensity and depth over the last ten years, beginning with 2008’s Anitdotes up to now, as sonic glimpses into their fourth album, What Went Down emerge. Today marks the video release of “Mountain At My Gate,” the second single that is as massive as the title track released in June.
Foals’ diversity in rhythm and mood continues to be their calling card, crafting gorgeous melodies made more so by vocalist Yannis Philippakis, then punching it into high gear for a dance off, or off a cliff through the myriad of massive drums, guitar layers and thundering pedal effects.
On the new “Mountain At My Gate,” they play multidimensional personalities within four minutes, gyrating a groove, a Yannis serenade, and then it’s off to the races. “I drive my car without the brakes” is an understatement, as the song builds to a hurricane pace.
“I wanted to tap into my inner madman and feel like I was channeling some sort of fevered creature,” Yannis stated after the release of the “What Went Down” single. Yeah, no shit. It’s what any fan has actually witnessed at a Foals live show, like climbing up the rafters at the Ogden, getting onto the balcony next to us, and then promptly dropping himself into the crowd below.
What Went Down is due out August 28 on Warner Bros. Records, was produced by James Ford (Arctic Monkeys, Florence & The Machine), and recorded in the South of France within a rural 19th-century mill. One wonders what kind of historical, geographical, and magical influences the French countryside had on the making of the new Foals album, but with their track record and glimpses of what’s to come, they’re well on their way to continuing their stellar, well-deserved trajectory upward and out to the masses.
Pre-order the new album What Went Down at http://foals.co.uk.
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