The Best Indie Songs of 2015 - Foals

It took me a long time to release the merits of English indie rock band Foals but they are profound and, just like cock rash, it grows slowly on you without noticing and it's lots of fun getting it. Of course I quite liked Inhaler, My Number and Mountain At My Gates, but What Went Down (Jun’15) is a fucking cunt punt, a belter. What Went Down is the title track from Foals fourth album, and one that's set to surpass the rock hard brilliance of their third table-topping album Holy Fire (2013). 

But what would you expect from a band with three gold albums under their belt, who beat out The Arctic Monkeys for best live act 2013 and took the piss out of them at the awards show? Good bastards. A band that put on an 'unforgettable show' in Auckland, New Zealand where their singer told the security to go fornicate with themselves, to the crowds loud approval. A band with the NME 2013 track of the year for Inhaler (2012). A band Clash magazine call "...nothing less than sensational" and a band who fronted up to Kanye West and told him to pull his head out of his arse. A band whose new album went number one in the UK in September. These are the new pretenders to the throne of British Rock and Roll. They are Foals.

 

 

 

Foals are an indie pop-rock band from Oxford, England. What Went Down is the first single from the same titled album What Went Down (Aug’15). NME called the band "desert rock goliaths" and of the tune What Went Down, NME  made mention of the songs "...massive, fucking heavy cavern rock riffs, the size of cathedrals and the weight of God’s balls." Clash magazine called What Went Down both "unbelievably aggressive" and "feral." 

Similar to other Foal's songs What Went Down builds up hard and fast like plaque on a junkies teeth. It doesn't have the naked aggression of Pretty Vicious's National Plastics but it doesn't need to. If Foals are taking a rarely used musical muscle out for exercise in this tune then they need to get out for a stretch more often. If this is what the kids are listening to rock and roll is in a safe pair of hands, What Went Down is one of the best indie songs of 2015.
 

“I fell for a girl with a port-wine stain

I knew her initials but never her name”

 

 

Shit you need to know:

What When Down was recorded by James Ford, the ‘fifth Arctic Monkey,’ who has put nose to grind for the Arctic Monkeys, Klaxons, Mumford & Sons and is one half of Simian Mobile Disco.

Their music was called "an arena-funk hybrid" by Pitchfork.

Pop Matters said they have "infectious songs with arena-sized choruses."

NME called Foals, "...the most inspired and inspirational band of their generation."

Foals recent music has been compared to The Black Keys by NME, The Red Hot Chili Peppers by Pitchfork and they sound a lot like the Arctic Monkeys to me at the minute.

The singer said the bands early influences were Fugazi, Sonic Youth, The Pixies, Nirvana and dance music.

More recently the singer Yannis Philippakis said more pertinantly on the topic of the band's influences to the Independent "...we listen to African music, folk, hip-hop because that is what 21st-century multicultural UK society is like and it should be revelled in." 

Pitchfork called the new album What Went Down “...their most consistent, steady-handed work yet,” but not everyone is convinced. Pop Matters opined that it is just "...yet another anchoring point in Foals slow downward trajectory."

The singer Yannis Philippakis called the new album “lean” and “punchy”.

Clash Magazine said What Went Down is “... a hugely accomplished effort from one of Britains best bands.”

The singer chooses not to have a television in the house.

They did a cover of Mark Ronson's Daffodils (Aug’15) for legendary Aussie alternative radio program Triple J’s ‘Like A Version’.

The band were on fluffer duties for Janes Addiction this month.

 

If you're feeling it try more Foals crackers like the legendary Mountain At My Gates or for something funkier Inhaler or even My Number.

 

 

Todays slippery seconds is Spiderbait, the second best Australian alternative rock band to ever walk the earth, with an often huge glam-rock sound, playing together since 1989. They have a massive list of must have songs from Shazam to Buy Me A Pony to Outta My Head. Spiderbait hit the big time and international recognition with their soundtrack favorite, their hard rocking cover of Ram Jam’s Black Betty. But Spiderbait's best is the big nasty groove of Stevie (2011).

“Take me out for tea
There's a little place that I know you might like to be”