Product Description

'Antidotes' is the debut album from Foals. An experimental-yet-danceable selection that shows impressive scope, this isan indie record that is at home on the dancefloor as it is coming out of your stereo. Includes the single 'Cassius'. This bonus version also includes previous singles 'Hummer' and'Mathletics', as well as live tracks.

Track Listing

Disc 1:

1. The French Open
2. Cassius
3. Red Socks Pugie
4. Olympic Airways
5. Electric Bloom
6. Balloons
7. Heavy Water
8. Two Steps, Twice
9. Big Big Love (Fig.2)
10. Like Swimming
11. Tron

Disc 2:

1. .Hummer
2. .Astronauts `N All
3. Mathletics
4. .Big Big Love (Fig.1
5. .XXXXX (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10t)h
6. .The French Open (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th)
7. .Balloons (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th)
8. Two Steps Twice( Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th)
9. .Mathletics (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th)

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #5510 in Music
• Released on: 2008-03-24
• Number of discs: 1

Amazon.co.uk Review
It's hardly the cure for anything but Antidotes, the debut album from Oxford's Foals, is a strong addition to the eternal tradition of dance-friendly art rock most recently exemplified by Franz Ferdinand and Klaxons. The five ex-public schoolboys that make up Oxford's Foals are hardly lacking self-confidence--comically cocky frontman Yannis Phillipakis could annoy for the nation and the band rejected producer David Sitek's original mix--but Antidotes is anything but pony. After spending their youth in rigorous "math rock" outfits, Foals started out in 2005 with the stated intention of having fun. Rather delightfully, this amounted to the discovery that audiences are well disposed to acts they can dance to. A clutch of well-received singles and a guest spot on popular sixth-form satire Skins sealed their popularity. Their origins in academic rock are sometimes obvious, but fine drummer Jack Bevan keeps things moving throughout. Opener "The French Open", with its gleeful chanted vocals (in French) and fashionable Afrobeat tinged guitar lines, evokes Talking Heads' dada nonsense classic "I Zimbra", itself older than any Foal. First top thirty hit "Cassius" saw jazz-punk back in the charts for the first time since that perennial football crowd favourite "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag". "Olympic Airways" is a charming if oblique tale of escape that couldn't be further from the bus stop/chip shop style while "Red Socks Pugie" already sounds like a single in waiting. The lyrics might charitably be described as impressionistic and Phillipakis's voice remains nondescript. But with better tunes than Bloc Party and a self-conscious precision that recalls Mogwai in their pomp, the effortlessly pretentious Foals are unmistakably the sound of 2008. --Steve Jelbert

About the Artist
What links the minimalism of American composer Steve Reich, guitars that sound like insects and tennis player Andy Roddick? The answer is one word: Foals. The explanation is a bit more complicated. Let's start at the beginning. Foals are a five-piece dance-rock band currently living in their home town Oxford. Yannis Philippakis (20, vocals/guitar), Edwin Congreave (22, keyboards), Walter Gervers (23, bass), Jimmy Smith (22, guitar) and Jack Bevan (21, drums) met in their native city, where they bonded over a shared sense of humour. Bored with the interchangeable electro records they heard at every party, they decided to make the kind of music they wanted to dance to. "We wanted to make music that was very technical, that wasn't just party music, but at the same time you could dance to it," explains Yannis.

First they christened themselves Foals. It was a nod to Yannis' surname, which means "little lover of horses" in Greek. "I like Foals because it's a nice word and it doesn't give away what the band is about," he explains. "It sounds fresh and new."

Then they installed themselves in a tiny rehearsal room and started bouncing ideas off one another. Tensions ran high. "I was shocked by how critical every one was of each other," says Edwin. "We've always been very self-critical," expands Yannis. "There was an almost dangerous amount of criticism." If the high-pressure atmosphere strained intra-band relations, they quickly identified a winning formula: driving percussion high in the mix, guitars played above the 12th fret, no chords and splashes of synth colour. The result was pristine, perfectly formed dance rock such as Balloons, Hummer and Two Steps Twice.

Live, Foals don't so much fizz with energy as explode like a well-shaken bottle of champagne. "It's like we're all battling for supremacy on stage," says Edwin. The dance-inflected beats have seen them rock venues ranging from the kitchen at a house party to London warehouse parties.

The sometimes surreal lyrical imagery is complimented by Foals' artwork, all of which is created by the "sixth member of the band", Tinhead. "He creates something visual that matches what we want the music to sound like," says Yannis. "There are all these weird lines, humming birds and bright colours.

But what about Andy Roddick?

"I read a book by David Foster Wallace called Infinite Jest," says Yannis. "It's about drugs and tennis. I'm fascinated with tennis. I like Roddick because he's an all American hero; he could be out of The Great Gatsby. He's got the fastest serve ever. It's beautiful. It's like ballet. It's so clinical. I'm more into Andy Roddick than any musician. I based the lyrics for our song The French Open on the Andy Roddick/Lacost advert."

"No, we don't understand his obsession with Roddick either," says Edwin.

A strange story then. But already a fascinating one. And it's only just started.

Customer Reviews

Only so much
Having first heard Foals a while back, I was instantly drawn to their music. I downloaded a few demos last year before all the hype started and was really impressed.Their use of multiple layers and time signatures leaves the listener slightly confused but ultimately amazed.
The only thing wrong with the album is prodction. The whole point of Foals' music is that it is multi layed and raw, and this album has lost some of that. Seeing them live will really make the listener appreciate them fully. Personally I dont like the use of saxaphone, and many of the songs have changed drastically from the original demos, mainly being mellowed out.

The 2cd version is the better deal, you get live recordings, which show what the main album was getting at, it just couldnt quite get there

Overall a good album for someone that is tired of typical indie and who wants to be absorbed into something very different.

The album is finally here
Having first heard Foals a while back, I was instantly drawn to their music. I downloaded a few demos last year before all the hype started and was really impressed.Their use of multiple layers and time signatures leaves the listener slightly confused but ultimately amazed.
The only thing wrong with the album is prodction. The whole point of Foals' music is that it is multi layed and raw, and this album has lost some of that. Seeing them live will really make the listener appreciate them fully. Personally I dont like the use of saxaphone, and many of the songs have changed drastically from the original demos, mainly being mellowed out.

The 2cd version is the better deal, you get live recordings, which show what the main album was getting at, it just couldnt quite get there

Overall a good album for someone that is tired of typical indie and who wants to be absorbed into something very different.

Shouty Pop
I thought I would like this album, even after I started listening to it I still hoped I would.

However as track after track came on, there were some interesting percussive ideas and constructs, but not too many appealing melodic ideas and I began to lose that hope.

By the time it was mostly over, I was also pretty sick of the "shouty" style of the vocals. I'm talking about that kind of angry agressive sounding vocal style that Billy Joe Armstrong from Green Day does so well, but actually can moderate from time to time to alow some variety through an album. That vocal style works well for some material, but when - like in this case - it's sustained without much variation all through an album (and not balanced out by any appealing melodic touches) I find it all just too bleak and oppressing to be appealing.

So, as a fan of more tuney indie music with more of a range of vocal variety I was disappointed with this album. Your mileage may vary.