Foals - Antidotes
We needed to wait three more years since the last release of a rock/indie record with a greek frontman. Last time around, it was up to Alex Kapranos with the second album of Franz Ferdinand to rock the Greek pride (that sounded quite cheesy). Now the time has come for Yannis Philippakis to step up to the mic, with his Oxford band Foals.Foals have enjoyed quite some hype (yet another band taking advantage of all the internet buzz) and their album was eagerly anticipated (with BBC Radio One hosting them in their Top-10 list of artists to look out for in 2008). Along with Battles, they are considered the new breed of Math Rock (oh how I love genre labeling), a mix of post-rock, complex melodies and asychnronous guitar lines.While the album does not provide the biggest variety in songs, it does give a distinct sound to the Foals which is quite different from most indie bands out there. And Yianni's voice is really suiting their style, nothing special but providing the necesary character to the group and letting the music do most of the talking. All in all, a really good debut album by a band that is definetly worth looking out for (hopefully we'll get the chance to see them live sometime soon...at least when Philippakis feels homesick).
Cassius and Mathematics are the best tracks for me on the album, along with Olympic Airways (just for the title!)
Excellent post.
Thank you.