Foals // Holyfire
Enough hidden charm to warrant the multiple listens it might need.
From what they’d released pre-album, at least momentarily, Foals sounded like they’d grown into stallions. ‘Inhaler’ showed us a new side to the band, with ‘shouty Yannis’ being a welcome addition to the diminutive frontman’s ever growing list of talents. But, rather than being the catalyst for a new tougher direction, the first five tracks run past in a Foals-by-numbers fashion. It’s clear a new precedent has been set, with heavier instrumentals, big hooks and breathy choruses seeming to be Foals’ ‘new’ sound, but it just feels like they’ve done it all before. Similarities with previous release Total Life Forever continue throughout, especially Holy Fire’s first moody track ‘Late Night’, which fulfils the exact role that ‘Spanish Sahara’ did on TLF. Thankfully everything gets racked up on ‘Providence’, and Foals’ claim that they’re “an animal just like you” finally brings a more fierce approach; replete with a beefier riff, rasping screams, thrashy bits and a bloody lovely, balls-to-the-wall heavy breakdown at the end. Closing couplet ‘Stepson’ and ‘Moon’ lapse a little, but by this point the slide back into melancholy is a welcome one, and the album is rounded off in a pleasantly contemplative manner. Overall, despite seeming a little lacklustre at times, Holy Fire has enough impressive tracks on it to prevent it from being the disappointment first feared. It will probably be a bit of a slow burner for those expecting an album of ‘Inhaler’s, but it certainly has enough hidden charm to warrant the multiple listens it might need. 7.5/10
Alex Throssell
