Foals: Holy Fire — Album Review

If you want atmosphere and momentum combined into a slick package, the third album by UK dance-punk band Foals will make you moonwalk all the way to the introspective disco.

Some albums make you want to dance.

Others make you want to look inside yourself.

This one does both.

Opening with a taste of older Foals albums, the first track gives us some off beat high hat and echoing plucked guitar to let us know that this is the same band that put out Total Life Forever.

Then, a grungy riff kicks in and you know that this record is going to be different.

“Inhaler” proves this, with the band going into full head banging, synth riding, distortion slamming in the chorus, with groovy verses that build on top of the singers normally smooth voice shredding until you’re ready to kick over a cabinet in the chorus again.

The third track takes us back into the dance party, with lyrics like “you don’t have my number, we don’t need each other now” telling us to just live a little lighter. Synths and wailing oohs make for a catchy track. This is also one of the most single worthy tracks on the album, and Foals has released a live styled and slightly psychedelic video to go with the song. If this was played at a party, I wouldn’t mind if they played it all night.

“Bad Habit opens with light melancholy electro beats, but quickly adds driving guitars and guitar stopping things from getting too depressing. A screaming guitar solo fast picks its way to let us chill out and dance away the rest of the song.

There are very few moments where you won’t be at LEAST tapping your feet during this album.

Tribal beats, vibraphones, bluesy guitar solos and string shots punctuate “Everytime” and “Late Night”, with a great showcase of singer Yannis Philippakis’ vocals. He sounds very British, and that’s fine with me.

“Out of the Woods” adds marimbas and unique guitar pedals to create one of the most lush songs on Holy Fire, matching the lyrics of “It was just a dream, the most beautiful place I’d seen”.

By this point in the album, you’ll realize that they even have a rocking triangle player. If you haven’t, take a listen. It will blow your mind.

“Milk and Black Spiders” threatens to overwhelm with synth and layers of guitars, but instead builds to a perfect crescendo that satisfies in just the right way.

At this point, many albums might feel tired, like all the new ideas would have been used up. But here, Foals switches up time signatures on “Providence” and gets grungy again, building and building until they rock out in a dance-punk fit of energy before relaxing into the final two tracks. “Stepson” and “Moon” give you a chance to come down from the dancing high you’ll have found yourself in after listening to the whole album, giving you a real chance to just think.

Overall, there are some moments on Holy Fire that feel like the band is stretching song ideas for just a little too long, but then, at almost the right moment, you are surprised by a new instrument, or new feel, and that’s the kind of great album that keeps you dancing.