| For all the ubiquity of post-punk inspired bands flooding | | | | bunch as yet more spiky-guitar-driven, jerky vocal, |
| the mainstream over recent years, the amount of truly | | | | Gang of Four wannabes. Not so. Foals have ambition |
| innovative music they have collectively produced has | | | | by the truckload and, while their influences are clearly |
| been disappointing by comparison. It's not difficult to | | | | apparent, they've applied them in new and |
| see why; the original class of 78-82 set the bar high | | | | unpredictable ways. And finally, thrillingly, over a decade |
| and bequeathed one of the most astonishingly | | | | after Oasis single-handedly kicked the cack out of |
| imaginative musical legacies ever - a lavish | | | | musical progression, here's a guitar band that's clearly |
| cross-pollination that embraced punk, disco, dub reggae, | | | | in love with the studio, electronics and the notion of |
| funk, glam and krautrock to often dizzying extremes. | | | | stretching possibility. |
| And while some of these acts (Talking Heads, Wire) | | | | The singles Cassius and Balloons are perfectly formed |
| have become touchstones for a generation of indie | | | | pop confections that, like with all the best albums, only |
| kids, other key players (Associates, Magazine) have | | | | scratch the surface of the whole. African-influenced |
| proved simply too rich to rob - talents so 'out there' as | | | | guitars abound but it's the concise drive and restrained |
| to defy influence. | | | | neurosis that strikes, as well as the arresting use of |
| It's a willingness to experiment, both musically and | | | | saxophone (think Mirror In The Bathroom rather than |
| technologically, that's been missing of late. All the | | | | Baker Street). The album's true heart lies deeper, |
| aforementioned artists broke new ground in the studio | | | | however, and the tension is released throughout |
| and, in their own ways, redefined what the pop single | | | | Antidotes at several key moments, so when everyone |
| could be - mental but magnificent, yet still within | | | | stops to admire the beautiful view they've created, - |
| detection of the Smash Hits radar. Certainly, the likes | | | | the heart-rending chorus of Red Sock Pugie; the gentle |
| of Franz Ferdinand and Maximo Park have produced | | | | ascent of Big, Big Love (vaguely reminiscent of |
| top-notch material in recent years but, worryingly, little | | | | Unforgettable Fire-era U2) - it's exhilarating. |
| new ground has been broken and the 30-year-old | | | | At last, the noughties have their own Fear of Music, |
| model remains the blueprint. | | | | Chairs Missing or Fourth Drawer Down - a record |
| Thank flip, then, for Foals and their wonderful new | | | | driven by an impulse to create something new, where |
| album, Antidotes. Ostensibly, given their youth, | | | | musical dexterity is of secondary importance to the |
| NME-darling status and oft-mentioned Skins | | | | idea, but still retaining one foot on the dance floor. Yes, |
| appearance, it would be easy to dismiss this Oxford | | | | that good. |