"We fly balloons on this fuel called love."
Previous to the release of Antidotes, Foals suffered a fate not uncommon to new British bands who cut a few impressive singles before releasing a debut LP: massive over-hype at the hands of the British music press. If this wasn't enough, the band was extremely disappointed in the original (Dave Sitek) mix of the album and had to set about remixing it on their own. In most cases, all this would have added up to a huge letdown of an album, but Foals somehow avoided this by coming up with a frenetic (and strangely danceable) cocktail of New Wave, Post-Punk and Math-Rock elements wedded to quirky hooks, stop-start rhythms, and vocals that often sound like a chorus of Robert Smiths singing into a tin can. What really sets this album apart, however, are the arrangements, which utilize, in addition to some nice intertwining guitar work, horns and electronics. This coupled with Yannis Philippakis' oblique (if not charmingly limited) vocal style make for a unique sound that, while acknowledging its Post-Punk forefathers, is quite adept at establishing a groove, making it occasionally infectious and well worth returning to.
