Could this be the album of the year?
Rating: ★★★★.5
Would my dad like this album? Yes
Would I put this album on in the car with passengers? For sure
The boys from Oxford have done it again. “Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1” has a more experimental indie sound to it than their last two albums “What Went Down” and “Holy Fire”, which focused on a lot of heavy rock and metal elements. Much more upbeat than my least favourite of their albums “Total Life Forever”, this new offering could almost be seen as a more mature and developed rendition of their 2008 debut album “Antidotes”.
This ten-track album does not have one duff track. With a run time of 39 minutes, ENSWBL (as it will be known as from now on), is short and sweet, and could be listened to in its entirety over a morning commute or a couple of short car journeys. The longest track is just under 6 minutes, the shortest at 44 seconds.
The album opens with Moonlight, a dream-like guitar/synth track. Foals front-man Yannis Philippakis said in an interview with NME that he wanted the opening track to sound like the listener is going into a wormhole, and enjoying the rest of the album as if in a different dimension. I don’t know if this track is the best indication of what to expect from the rest of the album, but I appreciate Yannis’ sentiment. After “Moonlight”, the album goes into the epic comeback single Exits. This song has the longest running time on the album at 5:57, but every second is worth it. “Exits” has such a Foals sound – it’s hard to define what that really means, but it’s just so Foals!
Track 3, White Onions sounds like it could have been on “Antidotes”, as it’s got that 2009-golden-age-of-indie sound, but a matured 2019 Foals version. My favourite track from the album In Degrees, is an electronic/synth masterpiece, that features a fantastic bass riff. Yannis said that he liked the paradox of the melancholy lyrics and the upbeat track, calling it a “sad banger”. Fabulous bass continues into track 5 Syrups, a slower funky track, which switches up and gets faster towards the end. About Syrups Yannis said that the first half was a more refined version, with a bass riff over a drum loop, and the second half came from one of the band’s jam sessions.
Track 6 On The Luna is another exquisitely Foals-sounding banger. I am a big fan of this fun synth/rock/funk masterpiece. Café d’Athens breaks up the album, as you start to hear new instruments, like marimbas and xylophones, although the track does run the risk wandering into game-music/ringtone territory at times. Track 8 Surf Part 1 is, according to the band, an extract of stuff to come in the second part of ENSWBL. The ethereal track seems like a transition into the slower, latter part of the album.
Sunday starts off slow, dreamy and jazzy, a faster beat kicks in at around 3:20 for around a minute, and it runs until 5:54, making it one of the longest tracks on the album. Guitarist Jimmy Smith said that the song has “ a warmth to it” and “a depth of sound”. Finally I’m Done With The World (& It’s Done With Me) is the closer. Yannis described it as like the end credits of a film, and I suppose I see it as a calm/warm-down after a highly energetic Foals album. The base of the track was already laid out when Yannis recorded the vocals, and he claims the lyrics came from the mood of the Autumn day on which it was recorded. The lyrics “The fox is dead in the garden” came from a real wounded fox that had laid in Yannis’ garden as he listened to the instrumental of the track.
Overall, the band have not disappointed, forever producing well-refined, unique and just purely good music. The music market of today seems to be flooded with singers and bands it is almost impossible to tell apart, but Foals’ sound is so individual to them, once you know them you will always recognise their music. I hope the album beats Dave and Sigrid in the race to number one, because it really deserves its place up there (not saying that Dave and Sigrid don’t deserve a number 1 album, they really do, but it’s tough competition this week.) I believe the second part of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost is due out later this year, and I cannot wait for it.
If you’ve got a spare 40 minutes this week – in fact any week – take the time to really listen to this album, it’s worth your time!