Foals - What Went Down (Album Review)

Foals are a five-piece indie rock band from Oxford who formed 10 years ago in 2005, and they are currently a hot topic all over social media recently due the release of their ten-track new album - 'What Went Down'. What Went Down was recently released last month on the 28th of August, 2015. The five-piece consists of the multi-talented musicians; lead vocalist, Yannis Philippakis, Jimmy Smith on rhythm guitar, Walter Gervers on bass, Edwin Congreave on the keyboards and Jack Bevans on the drums. In all honesty, the only song that I know by Foals is their well-known 2012 hit - 'My Number'. Therefore, I am going to embrace this opportunity by being able to get a proper listen of Foals and see what the whole hype about them is.

Foals opening song is the title track of their album; therefore this track should hopefully give me a rough idea of what to expect from their album as a whole. The track has a punchy opening line that grabbed my attention straight away and it was;

"I buried my heart in a whole in the ground, with the lights and the roses and the cowards downtown."

All of the instruments remain very simple throughout the first two minutes of the song, until the chorus kicks in. You know the chorus has kicked in as lead singer, Yannis Philippakis shouts out the lyrics of -

"When I see a man, I see a lion. When I see a man, I see a liar."

I instantly liked their second and third track due to the groovy, indie rhythm on the tracks. This rhythm has been cleverly created by Congreave using a keyboard within the band, as it makes them a bit more quirky and allows them to stand out and differentiate themselves from other indie-rock bands. Their second song is called 'Mountain At My Gates'. The majority of Foals tracks off this album are incredibly catchy and these two give you a good example as of what is yet to come on the album, as this track has the noticeably contagious line of;

"I see a mountain at my gates, I see it more and more each day."

Their third song is called 'Birch Tree'. For some odd reason, even though it has an upbeat to it - I find this track incredibly therapeutic and soothing. However, I think this might be due to the way that Philippakis sings this song with a very melancholic touch.

"Come meet me by the river, see how time it flows. I'll meet you by the river, see how time it flows."

The mid-track of the album is a more lyrics-based song, and it is called 'Albatross'. Using his melancholic voice; Philippakis allows you to focus on the lyrics more, as he pronounces near enough every word very slowly and clearly.

"You sat by the banks of the river and you waited, till time rolled back and the water had abated."

Their sixth track; 'Snake Oil' is a lot less indie-rock, compared to their other tracks - and a lot more 80's rock.  With their smooth and cool guitar riffs, this track is a lot more different to the other songs on the album. That funky, indie beat that I like soon comes back on their seventh track called - 'Night Swimmers'. This track is perfect for the summer! It is just a shame that they didn't release this song as a teaser for the album earlier on in the summer. 

"Another hot summers day; and only we know the way to the cool blue lagoon, where we sleep until noon."

After listening to their eighth track 'London Thunder' I wanted something that would wake me up and make me excited, and the following track just didn't do it. The collation of songs have been ordered very badly, as the majority of songs are very similar - the order doesn't do the songs justice. The following track was called 'Lonely Hunter' and even though it did eventually kick in, it was quite near the end of the song and was only for a few seconds. The final track 'A Knife In The Ocean' just reminded me of the other two tracks, which makes me think that they have rushed the end of the album.

In conclusion; I like all of the songs individually, but I think that the album just doesn't work. All of the tracks are very similar, and they only had one ice-breaker song which was the rock one called 'Snake Oil'. There wasn't any songs that showed off his vocal range either and the band get no recognition as none of them stand out throughout the whole album, except 'Snake Oil'. Throughout any of the other songs, I never thought that any of the other musicians particularly excelled in their area of skill. I would not watch foals live as I imagine them to be a very boring act to watch. This is due to the fact when a band release a new album, and they release a tour to promote the album, their new work dominates the tour - therefore if the album appears constant and dull then surely their gig would too? Please do correct me if I am wrong though. I recommend the songs individually, but not the album as a whole. The second half of the album just appears rushed to me, leaving me very disappointed on behalf of my expectations.

6/10