If I didn’t know anything about the above video before watching it, I would’ve thought it was something by Sigur Ros. Last thing I would’ve guessed was that it was the latest from Foals, the frenetic dance-rockers responsible for clutch tracks like “Hummer” and “Cassius”. The Oxford five-piece drop angular guitar riffs for drawn-out build-ups in “Spanish Sahara,” the first track to be released off of the band’s upcoming album, Total Life Forever. Although it’s hardly what I’d consider the most logical choice for a single, “Spanish Sahara” is a top contender for my favorite song by the band. The culmination of serene melodies into a cloud-parting breakdown just works out perfectly. The Antidotes-esque guitarwork thrown in towards the end is a nice touch as well. The hypnotically-beautiful, Icelandic feel of the video (that’s probably not Iceland but as far as stereotypes go, having perfect landscapes for epic music videos is as good as it gets) is just a cherry on top of all this goodness. Total Life Forever has definitely moved up a few spots on my list of most anticipated albums of the year.
Love,
Adrian
Nice review, lovely song, great video. I’ll certainly be searching out Foals. So thanks for the heads up.
seriously, what a departure from cassius etc. there’s a nice wee remix doing the rounds as well.