Foals — Life Is Yours — Album Review
Indie | Rock | Electronic | Pop
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When it comes to the later part of my musical teenhood, the Oxfordshire indie rock band known as Foals surely made up a huge chunk of that. Not only have I been a fan of them ever since the release of their third album, 2013’s Holy Fire; I have also been privileged enough to see them perform live on two occasions.
That being said, I have been following them and their musical releases ever since. However, the first chance I got to give a critical review came with the band’s musical 2019, in which Foals released two halves of one greater musical project.
Titled Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost (Parts 1 and 2 respectively), the band made it their mission to make 2019 an important musical year for them. Part 1 was released in March of that year, while part 2 arrived in october. Both of these albums brought forth their signature style in spade-loads. However, having known Foals for so long, I was anxious as to what the future would hold for said style. This anxiety was only strengthened by bassist Walter Gervers’ decision to take his departure from the band, leaving Foals as a triad.
Towards the end of 2021, we got our answer with the release of Foals’ first teaser track to herald the arrival of their brand new album cycle. “Wake Me Up” did a great job of capturing that Foals feel (even with one less member). However, it didn’t shy away from changing a few things up either. It felt like your typical danceable Foals bop; only this time, they have blatantly veered further towards a more electropop-esque style. This idea only became clearer with the release of subsequent teasers, which actually went even deeper into said style.
And now the full album has finally arrived, with an uplifting message making for its title; “Life Is Yours”.
Given the post-pandemic era we find ourselves in, and festival season just around the corner, the release of an album like Life Is Yours couldn’t be more apt. And the entire purpose of the album, is to simply be as feel-good as possible. Through the album, Foals achieve this effortlessly; it is undeniably enjoyable.
However, I wouldn’t be surprised at all is this album does turn a few long-time Foals fans off. By achieving this insane level of enjoyment, the band do sacrifice a little bit of their ambient rock framework, not to mention that the vocal side of things do take a bit of a backseat.
But for me personally, even as a long-time Foals fan, I can definitely appreciate the stylistic changes that the band went for. They took a bold risk; and the way I see it, it has paid off. Even with all of the bands stylistic sacrifices, Life Is Yours still shows Foals being the most refreshing they have sounded in years.
Whether you’re a big time Foals fan or not, Life Is Yours stands as an essential addition to any 2022 summer soundtrack; the feel-good vibes are truly abundant.
Favourite Tracks: Wake Me Up | 2001 | Looking High | The Sound
Least Favourite Track: Crest of the Wave
Warner Music
