For the final review of the week by your Music Team officers, Head of Music Alex West discusses Foals’ epic Antidotes, which celebrated the 10 year anniversary of its US release exactly a week ago.
When I was originally introduced to Foals’ first album, I didn’t understand the appeal. I needed the immediate gratification and full, bassy choruses of their future music, which ‘Antidotes’ generally lacks. It was only when a friend sat me down and demanded I gave it my complete attention that I properly appreciated it, and how.
As a debut LP, this is a masterpiece. In hindsight it should be no surprise that I didn’t enjoy it on an initial listen, because it does take patience to love. Its beauty is in its texture, with the vocals and guitars just another tightly wound layer around the intricate drum patterns of Jack Bevan, which take centre stage, unusually high in the mix.
‘Antidotes’ came before Foals transcended the mainstream with ‘My Number’ and ‘Mountain At My Gates’, where they relaxed their sound and made themselves kinder on the listener. Accordingly, this is Foals at their most raw, and most extreme. The infectious hooks and immense sonic vocabulary which featured in their later art are all there, blended into a relentless, unforgiving cacophony that flows in and out, continuously building intensity.
Despite mainly being in a 4/4 time signature, the rhythm of Foals’ tracks has always had a unique sound owing to the changing of emphasis to the beat, which has led many to categorise the band as math rock. One of the group’s earliest singles, ‘Mathletics’, even alludes to this in its title. Unsurprisingly, Foals accumulated plaudits from fans of music of that ilk post-release, as although they have been praised endlessly for the dynamic rhythms in their work since, it is here that they are at their peak.
It’s not an album for everyone, of course, due to its unconventionality. Upon its release, Pitchfork’s Tom Ewing described lead singer Yannis Philippakis’ tone as “plummy yelping”. Lyrics distant, drifting in and out of focus, and high-pitched guitars playing rapid harmonics and tremolos, consciously evocative of insects, is not a combination that makes for easy listening.
Nonetheless, some of the singles did manage to achieve commercial success. ‘Balloons’ was 86th on NME’s 100 Tracks of the Decade, ‘Cassius’ charted at 26 and ‘Olympic Airways’, an airy song which hints at the direction Foals would go in next, appeared on FIFA 09 alongside the likes of Tom Jones and Kasabian. ‘Antidotes’ itself charted at 3, an incredible feat for a premier collection.
Live, the songs still have the same frantic feel, driving crowds into a frenzy. Such is the faith Foals place in these tracks to create an incredible atmosphere that they closed their widely acclaimed headline slot at Reading Festival 2016 with ‘Cassius’ and ‘Two Steps, Twice’, a couple of the more frenetic pieces of the LP.
Ten years on, ‘Antidotes’ has so far withstood the test of age. A stunning proof of concept that set the blueprint for a series of more successful, polished hits, it surely ranks as one of the best British debuts. It may not have the depth that the quintet would go on to develop, but this was an announcement to the world of music that heralded a new star, and put the name “Foals” on everyone’s lips for the first time.
Article: Alex West
