Photos of Foals at Brooklyn Steel in Brooklyn, NY on April 13th, 2019
Photos of Foals at College Street Music Hall in New Haven, CT on November 5th, 2016
Photos of Foals at United Palace Theatre in New York, NY on November 4th, 2016
Photos of Foals at Aztec Theatre in San Antonio, TX on October 8th, 2016
Photos of Foals at Terminal 5 in Philadelphia, PA on December 19th, 2015
Photos of Foals at Terminal 5 in New York, NY on December 18th, 2015
Photos of Foals at 2014 Primavera Sound in Barcelona, Spain
Photos of Foals at 2014 Shaky Knees Festival in Atlanta, GA
Photos of Foals at Terminal 5 on May 6th, 2014
QRO’s review of Foals at O2 Academy in Birmingham, U.K. on February 11th, 2014
QRO’s review of Foals at East Village Arts Centre in Liverpool, U.K. on February 2nd, 2014
Photos of Foals at 2013 Governors Ball in New York, NY
QRO’s review of Foals at The Granada at Lawrence, KS on June 5th, 2013
England’s Foals won a lot of fans with their intricate 2008 debut, Antidotes, but follow-ups Total Life Forever (QRO review) and particularly Holy Fire got a lot bigger. They endured the highs & lows of being a buzz band in Britain (so of course singer Yannis Philippakis took a shot at the Arctic Monkeys, Britain’s earliest online buzz band), with longer-time fans saying they declined after going major label, but newer fans reveling in such songs as “Spanish Sahara”. After all of that comes What Went Down, a solid and balanced record from start to finish.
The nice introductory pressure to the titular opener sets the stage for a relatively ominous album, but one that does vary in style. There’s the synth-smooth “Birch Tree” right before the airy & expansive “Give It All”, yet “Snake Oil” is road-drive. “Night Swimmers” is tropical evening dance, but following it is the travel-loss “London Thunder”, a song that brings to mind Anglo-alternative heroes Elbow (QRO live review). Even the dance to pieces like “Albatross” and “Lonely Hunter” are decidedly angular and somber.
After all of Foals’ ups & downs What Went Down feels like a band throwing off buzz/criticism and just doing what they want.
