Foals - Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt.2 (Album Review)

Mediocrity strikes again...

The second installment of Foals' double outing this year has been misbranded as the heavier and more substantial side of the album, a fact I cannot concede is accurate.

Over the years since Foals' debut back in 2008, they've gathered up a consistently mixed critical response that seems to have mostly increased over the decade. They've stated that they feel rather alone as a band because of how many of their peers have have broken up and fallen to the wayside since they broke onto the scene, and I can't help but wonder if this is partially why they've managed to stay relevant and successful all this time. Perhaps the lack of peer bands and unwillingness for the public to embrace any new indie bands to the extent they did when Foals emerged leaves them as one of the only options. Regardless, it was still impressive to see them scoring three top 100 hits this year and their very first #1 album with this, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt.2, but is it actually any good?

I first listened to this back to back with Part One and there was a noticeable shift in quality after the third track which never really picked up again for more than part of a song, an unfortunate but undeniable disappointment I presumed would right itself after further listens. Sadly, this is not the case. Foals have always found themselves somewhere between disco-tinged indie pop and stadium-ready arena rock, their huge choruses a hit at many festivals and radio stations alike, but this album's alleged turn to the heavier side is an indication of the diversity of sounds the band have actually played with. Or it should be. After the more experimental variety of Part One, I was really hoping for a continuation of that albeit with more drive and pace like with "Exits" and "White Onions", two highlights from that last record. Instead, we seem to just get a more straightforward but unambitious rock record that fails to live up to the excitement the last album delivered, nor the heaviness the band promised.

When I call this album unambitious that isn't to say they don't take any risks or try out a variety of sounds, because they do in fact take the record in multiple different sonic directions and they do explore different themes and tones instrumentally, from the brooding synths of the opener "Red Desert" to the proggy guitars of the ten minute closer "Neptune", but what they do with these sounds is ultimately very safe and underwhelming. There's nothing wrong with wanting to recreate older, more classic rock sounds (just take The Amazons' last album as a great example of an unoriginal yet potent recreation of Led Zeppelin and Queens of the Stone Age) but Foals' take on a range of different subgenres is surprisingly lacking the kinetic pulse that has made their music stick in the past and the lack of movement makes it feel overlong, lethargic and slow. It primarily comes across as left overs from the first part that didn't make the cut for not being creative enough for that album, and yet so many people have chosen to brand it as an equal kind of experience that for me is just not reflected in the quality of the songs themselves.

I take further issue in the literal presentation of these sounds, as the mixes do not flatter the generally more aggressive guitar work and the result is a polished but murky and impactless collection of digestible but underdeveloped tracks that don't take my interest or stick in my mind like they should. For such a distinctive band like Foals this album should not be as forgettable as it is, and it's likely the combination of familiar sounds that aren't elevated by any interesting ideas or necessary but absent sharp production. There is a very static feel on the softer songs, of which there is a surprising number, which leaves even the heartfelt beauty of "Into the Surf" somewhere amongst the dust they desperately attempted to kick up with the romper of a lead single in "Black Bull", a song I find myself very conflicted on. On the one hand, there is actually genuine energy in the performance on the track and I do enjoy the fast-paced, rip-roaring attitude; on the other hand, the lyrics are extremely weak and Yannis' vocals are shallow, excessively masculine and at their least likeable. At least this isn't a problem for the rest of the album, where the songwriting is one of the most dependable elements to a track.

Speaking of songwriting, the clunky bombast of "Like Lightning" has an extremely tedious and sluggish progression and payoff that is all too influenced by The Black Keys and even Imagine Dragons, a combo I wish had not come to fruition given how repetitive and obnoxious the results were. It is by far the worst song on the album, and really one of the band's only bad songs in their career. For the most part, on this record and others, their main crime is the meandering mediocrity and lack of drive that keeps almost every album from being anything special outside of a few songs. This is perhaps the most true on Part Two, where outside of a couple of decent outings I don't find anything worth holding onto.

Foals should really take a different approach next time they plan on recording an album, as they seem to have spent more effort on marketing than the music this time around and it has showed through the huge drop off in quality from Part One. Their image is fantastic and striking whilst the songs are closer to bland and tired, their claims to be massively inspired by our current socio-political and environmental landscape only proving to be anything more than a claim in the lyrics and themes. Maybe the desolate sounds of the album were intentional in reflecting this fallout, but I vastly preferred the confused chaos of their last album. Sorry Foals, this isn't it... light 5 out of 10 from me.

Best Songs:
Neptune; The Runner; Wash Off

Worst Songs:
Like Lightning; 10,000 Feet; Red Desert

---

"Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost - Part Two"

Foals

Warner Records

18/10/2019

---