Foals

Sub Pop; April 2008

England’s newest exports are kicking ass and taking names on their recently released full-length debut, Antidotes. Mixing quasi-proggy rock outs with dance-worthy backbeats and the occasional horn accompaniment (see singles “Balloons” and “Cassius”), Foals manage to borrow from a bevy of their contemporaries without coming across as too derivative. “Red Socks Pugie” sounds like Bloc Party thanks in part to its repetitive electro guitar riffs and Yannis Philippakis’s low, rich, and decidedly British vocals. Meanwhile, “French Open,” “Heavy Water,” and “Electric Bloom” call out to the sounds of fellow indie rock free spirits TV on the Radio. The result is a texturally lush, simply executed exercise in blending free-form jazz, electronic, dancehall, pop, and rock influences into a sound that is not only listenable, but undeniably catchy.