The album begins with a dissonant interlude before
descending into guitar driven and vocally expansive ‘Inhaler’, their first
single from Holy Fire released late
last year. ‘Inhaler’ is a grinding and razor sharp missive with instrumental
capacity that escalates and descends appropriately throughout the track.
There seems to be a conscious effort on the part of Philippakis and Co. not to have songs that are too similar in composition. ‘Inhaler’ however, glides perfectly into ‘My Number’ before jumping into complex and tightly packed ‘Bad Habit’. ‘Bad Habit’ is a wholly different aesthetic from what we’re used to hearing from Foals. It is melodically straight forward, adhering to a fairly lateral structure. Rhythmically, however, is multi-layered and intriguing to hear.
There seems to be a conscious effort on the part of Philippakis and Co. not to have songs that are too similar in composition. ‘Inhaler’ however, glides perfectly into ‘My Number’ before jumping into complex and tightly packed ‘Bad Habit’. ‘Bad Habit’ is a wholly different aesthetic from what we’re used to hearing from Foals. It is melodically straight forward, adhering to a fairly lateral structure. Rhythmically, however, is multi-layered and intriguing to hear.
‘Everytime’ brings to memory Total Life Forever in its reverberating and haunting near-falsetto
vocals. The strong structure is also similar, aside from an intriguing
midsection bridge.
‘Last Night’ is significantly slower paced that the other
tracks on ‘Holy Fire’. Rhythmically and vocally, Foals demonstrate an ability
for variety, sounding almost unlike themselves on this track. The composition
is most unlike any other Foals song. The execution of a jazz solo near the end
demonstrates a level of musical proficiency that Foals seemed to have settled
into nicely.
Foals continue to demonstrate this proficiency with bass
driven “Out of the Woods”, a track which even employs synth instrumentals and
also recalls Total Life Forever (a la Spanish Sahara). ‘Milk and Fire’ draws an interesting contrast
between quick and stuttering instrumentals and slow and evenly paced vocals.
This marriage of contrasting elements, coupled with a winding and spacious
string section, create an interesting listening experience.
‘Stepson’ is jazzy and dissonant and is the perfect precursor
to quiet and spacious ‘Moon’. ‘Moon’ reads almost like a lullaby with its
strong but forlorn lyrics and composition.
With this album, Foals seem to have leaned away from Total Life Forever and Antidotes, wanting to focus on building
progression in their music. Holy Fire
is a prime example of how a band should move forward with their music. Holy Fire is fast and slow and frenzied
and measured all in one. It cleanly creates contrast within itself and is
markedly different from previous releases, showing real growth in an industry
that often churns out more of the same.
Holy Fire was
released February 11th 2013, and is available for download on iTunes
and Amazon.
