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10.0
11858
10.0 |
The Fly
Their second album is an inventive, thrilling and flawless masterpiece
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9.1
20041
9.1 |
A.V. Club
Fusing their usual urgency and precision (with Afrobeat breakdowns applied surgically, rather than bluntly) to soaring, stadium-ready choruses
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9.0
12519
9.0 |
FasterLouder
A stunning album that reveals a greater, previously unknown depth to Foals, both lyrically and musically
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9.0
11957
9.0 |
musicOMH
In broadening their horizons they've not sacrificed quality, every note and sound is perfectly executed. Foals have made impressive strides forward, and you'd be mad not to follow them
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9.0
11986
9.0 |
God Is In The TV
A mature exploration and more importantly an evolution in Foals already irresistible angular math rock genre
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9.0
12059
9.0 |
Independent on Sunday
A thoughtful, even intellectual record, with words you wouldn't normally expect to hear on Xfm drive time.. It might just be their masterpiece
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8.0
12141
8.0 |
Clash
A massive leap forward for the band. The music writhes with a renewed ambition, capable of moving from near ambient strains of electronica to propulsive African funk in a drum break
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8.0
12005
8.0 |
Evening Standard
From the opening bars of Blue Blood, it's clear that the Oxford band have taken a giant leap forward
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8.0
12008
8.0 |
State
There is real progress here in the instrumentation, the group backing vocals and the ability to loosen the reliance on immediate guitar lines
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8.0
11856
8.0 |
Mojo
Print edition only
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8.0
12044
8.0 |
Daily Telegraph
It’s more a grower than a grabber, but patience is definitely rewarded
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8.0
11994
8.0 |
The Times
The University of Oxford drop-outs have just graduated
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8.0
11972
8.0 |
The Guardian
The confidence of this follow-up is striking. Not because the Oxford quintet now do everything harder, faster, cooler: quite the opposite. There is stillness and hush here, and a depth of emotion they have never accessed before
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8.0
11914
8.0 |
NME
Throughout is a braveness and naive sense of wonder
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8.0
11853
8.0 |
The Skinny
Built on what in reality was a very promising debut to expand their musical repertoire greatly
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8.0
11854
8.0 |
Uncut
Print edition only
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8.0
14210
8.0 |
No Ripcord
Total Life Forever’s knack for dance-rock is so infectious and eager-to-please, it‘s almost troubling
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8.0
13500
8.0 |
PopMatters
Foals have moved from spindly, frenetic, fashionable guitar songs to a much fuller, more groove-oriented sound that reveals them to be more humane and wise than the early years might have indicated
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7.6
12431
7.6 |
Pitchfork
Much more alive than earlier efforts, it's an album with a complexion that constantly changes with tim
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7.3
12623
7.3 |
Beats Per Minute
When they finally branch out, and work with producers as interesting as their remixers: watch out. For now, we’ll just have to deal with a few great songs at a time
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7.0
12139
7.0 |
Drowned In Sound
Where Antidotes was furious and muscular and destructive, Total Life Forever is quiet and sinister and inconsolable
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7.0
12160
7.0 |
The Line Of Best Fit
A surprisingly feel-good album that has enough of what made Foals appealing in the first place; it’s simply a bit more accessible and uplifting
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6.0
12065
6.0 |
The Observer
Fails to make a decisive leap either towards the tremulous sonic hauteur of a Radiohead or revolutionary mass appeal
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6.0
12130
6.0 |
The Scotsman
There's a lot going on in a leisurely fashion, like a Fleet Foxes/Vampire Weekend pillow fight, with Noah & The Whale cheering on from the sidelines. Next time, they might even crack a smile
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6.0
12016
6.0 |
The Quietus
Underneath the cinematic sprawl that Foals are now stretching their intricacies to fit, the record as a whole doesn't always move forward
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6.0
11855
6.0 |
Q
Print edition only
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6.0
11996
6.0 |
The Independent
Compared to the claustrophobic Antidotes, Foals' second album is a breath of fresh air
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6.0
13540
6.0 |
Tiny Mix Tapes
A good dance record: something you could leave on at a party and not stop moving to until its full 50 minutes have finished. But as much as it tries to run away from that, it isn’t a whole lot else
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