Foals @ QMU
Even if the initial shock of their sound is radical, it's not deviating much from song to song
It seemed like almost everyone was thoroughly bored with dance-punk... until Foals came along. There's no ennui at QMU; this is one enthused crowd. Directly after the second supporting act people are actually chanting - and it's not like the stage crew are taking a long time. Foals' debut record is dark, intense and powerful, and tonight the band matches that mood. Their guitarist is a frenetic mass of seizure-esqe motion while frontman Yannis Philippakis stands stationary and looks like he's about to bite off the microphone and spit it into the sea of flailing bodies. Foals have managed to forge a unique and exciting aesthetic in a scene glutted with insipid knockoffs and this audience dances and bounds as if to say: "This is the sound we've been waiting for." However, it's a good thing the set ends after an hour, because even if the initial shock of their sound is radical, it's not deviating much from song to song. And by the end, it's verging on monotonous. [Tobias Kahn]