Foals – Life Is Yours

Foals have been one of the UK’s buzziest bands of the last decade. 2013’s Holy Fire brimmed with anthems and their knack for producing more in the years that followed has been immense. Foals’ latest work, Life Is Yours, swaps gritty guitars for gleaming synths. It’s a noticeable change in direction from their 2019 double album, but you can’t help from being sucked into its eye-popping sheen.

Staccato synths from the album’s opening title track immediately conjure up images of summer scenes. It’s infectiously upbeat and things only get better when album highlight Wake Me Up bursts out of the speakers.

Nile Rodgers-esque guitars are a key feature throughout Life Is Yours. Aside from the more laid-back Flutter, the album’s danceable tempo shows no respite across its 40-minute duration. Its production is also extremely cohesive. Every cowbell hit and guitar strum is palpable, but the production really shines on the excellent electro-tinged album closer, Wild Green.

Infusing all of this with Yannis Philippakis’ intensely optimismic lyrics, the Oxford outfit have created a superb antidote to the gloominess of the world we’ve all been facing. Anyone out there feeling a pinch of the summer blues, check this out.

Listen to: Wake Me Up, Wild Green