Up until this year I always thought of Foals as a one-hit-wonder band; on each of their albums there was one song which was absolutely incredible, one almost as good to back it up and then the rest were, in comparison, a bit….meh. “My Number” off of the album “Holy Fire” is one of my favourite songs ever written and it’s the ultimate dance-around-your-room-and-feel-sensational tune. However, once you’ve listened to that song, the rest of the album, perhaps with the exception of “Inhaler”, is really quite disappointing. The same goes for “Spanish Sahara” off of their earlier album “Total Life Forever”. Such a beautiful song that starts off so quietly and as more layers are added on one by one it builds in to something epic, a bit like Arctic Monkey’s awe-inspiring “505”. They really opened up on this track which is why it stands out amongst the other songs on that album which all sound very much the same. I remember making my playlist for Latitude 2013 (because knowing the lyrics to every song at your GCSE summer festival is imperative) and I just wasn’t feeling the same love for their other songs. No matter how hard I tried to get in to them they just didn’t tickle my taste buds which deeply frustrated me. Their headlining performance at Latitude was also annoyingly underwhelming and many amongst us felt the same way. Apart from the die-hard fans at the front everyone else spent the entire concert waiting for “My Number” and “Spanish Sahara” and even those weren’t as jaw-dropping as one would have expected. There was also a lot of unnecessary, cringe-worthy swearing in every other sentence and pretending to be badass from Yannis which didn’t do him any favours.

ALAS! 2015 brought the release of their latest album, “What Went Down” and it fills my heart with joy to say that it is a cracking album. The whole thing. My personal favourite is “Mountain at My Gates” which is very similar to “My Number” as we hear the familiar and addictive guitar notes being played at the top of the fretboard. The booming drums and descending guitar riff towards the end of the song build it up so that you’re left feeling 100% satisfied with your power-crazy air guitar at the end. They have the perfect balance of meaty, hard-core rock songs like “What Went Down” and “Snake Oil” with more melodic, stripped-back sounds such as “Give It All” and “London Thunder” which is a personal favourite. Yannis’ voice really stands out in the opening of it and the use of layering synths at the end is haunting and musically brilliant. I also love “Birch Tree” particularly for the more delicate guitar lines and funky rhythm.

The bad news is Foals performed the last show of their UK tour yesterday in Cambridge. However, the good news is that they have announced 5 more UK dates as part of their world tour in February! They have had gushing reviews for their most recent shows, many of them commenting on the sincere energy of their performances. The even better news is that the supporting act will be Everything Everything whose latest album ‘Get To Heaven” is just as amazing. Barking out the punchy lyrics to “Regret” live is now somewhere near the top of my bucket list. Calendar permitting, I will definitely be busting out my student loan to get tickets because I have an inkling that both bands will put on a memorable show especially in such massive venues. If the tickets sell out, the intensity of Foals’ album and Everything Everything’s modern sound will set Wembley Arena on fire and will definitely be a show you don’t want to miss. Guys it very well could be mind-blowing. Maybe even gut-busting.

• 12 Feb, Hydro – Glasgow
• 13 Feb, Manchester Arena
• 16 Feb, Wembley Arena – London
• 19 Feb, Barclaycard Arena – Birmingham
• 20 Feb, Leeds Arena

Here’s the link because I know you you know you want tickets:

http://listings.ticketmaster.co.uk/foals?camefrom=CFC_UK_BUYAT_97249