The catchiest song from Foals‘ new disco-inspired new album Life Is Yours? Everyone stop looking, we’ve found it.
Throughout Foals’ promotions for Life Is Yours, the band have made a heavy emphasis on wanting to make music people can dance to, creating a firm u-turn away from the brooding ambient songs hailing from 2019’s two-part album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost. In 2001 they succeed. The song is ridiculously catchy, with its choppy bridge of “Oh my god, Brighton Rock!” taking indie fans back to times when the likes of Bloc Party, Foals and Two Door Cinema Club were dominating summer anthems with quick and catchy guitar riffs and punchy lyrics. The song confidently unites funk/disco with alternative rock, and could easily be the sister to previous singles such as ‘Birch Tree’ and ‘Miami. The chorus “I’ve been waiting all day inside, waiting for the summer sky.” chases verses that describe summer heat, blue slushie tongue, and happy memories from Brighton in its early 2000’s element.
I was lucky enough to hear the band debut Life Is Yours at the Brighton Centre recently, and frontman Yannis Philippakis described how 2001 was written in the band’s infancy after a move from Oxford to Brighton. As a previous ‘indie’ kid, places like Camden and Brighton felt like a progressive, alternative nirvana where you could explore all things different and interesting, and ‘2001’ captures the nostalgic energy of the city and how exciting it was to be there as a non-resident back in the early 2000’s. The song is as much a love letter to Brighton itself as it is to the vibrant nostalgia of those summertimes from our youth that will never be recaptured in the same way again, and it truly is great.
The bass is as rich in live performances as it is in the studio recording and this is definitely one that will always get the crowd moving. Since Foals have lost founding members and are now finding new life as a trio, a welcome new element to their music is that strong basslines have made a firm step forward into becoming the backbone of the band’s new funk vibe, not allowing a gap to be left where previous founding member and talented bassist Walter Gervers once was. Similarly, Jack Bevan on drums has been in his element throughout the band’s latest releases and undoubtedly the trio have proven they can hold their own. By becoming something new, Foals are stepping away from old strengths and finding new ones with confidence.
As a long-time fan of the band, I was initially concerned about Foals’ longevity following their transition into a trio and experimentation with a new genre of music, but with releases like 2001, Foals have proved they’re prepared to keep evolving their sound and providing us with anthems for many more years to come. The journey is looking like it’s going to be a fun one.
2001 is available now via Warner Music, check out the video below. Foals’ new album Life Is Yours is set to be released on June 17th.
