MUSIC

Foals Finds New Purpose on "Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2"

The British indie mainstay's new album works as both a compelling new project and a more satisfying ending to the story started on Part 1.

Alex Knowles

Back in March, Foals released Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1, a title that promised both an apocalyptic album and a story to be continued.

The British band's fifth studio album, featured on Popdust earlier this year, brandished a polished, dancified groove that transformed cataclysmic anxiety into moments of clarity and acceptance, as best seen on tracks like "In Degrees" and "On The Luna." Part 1 was about fear and eventual understan ding of an apocalypse—but now, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost, Part 2 has arrived, dutifully picking up right where its predecessor left off: how to live in a new reality, once the world you've known comes to an end? In a sense, Part 2 is an album interested in how to move on from the end of your world.

Part 2 still lives in the same ethereal production universe as Part 1, but the rock is far more grounded and more intimate in its scope. There's a greater sense of deliberation in Foals' focus, from the music to the lyrics. There's a hardened rock edge to the tracklist, which is obvious on the echoing urgency of "The Runner." "When I fall down, fall down / Then I know to keep on running," frontman Yannis Phillippakis yowls on the refrain, and a host of synths and the chorus rush in behind his voice to blow the roof off the album.

FOALS - The Runner [Official Music Video]www.youtube.com

Their new purposeful sound drives some of the best songs Foals has released in years. The growling guitar on "Black Bull" creates horror-movie suspense, while "Dreaming Of" and "10,000 Feet" give the gentle promise of a new start after hardship. "I'll eat up all your pain, take in all the blame / Be that someone to complain to," Phillippakis promises on "Into The Surf," a surprisingly moving meditation on grief. The instrumental vignette "Surf Pt. 1" is an artful way to close the sonic loop begun on the previous album, and it sets the stage for the explosive closer "Neptune," a ten-minute bruiser with the conceptual ambition of a '70s prog-rock opera.

If anything, Part 2 is so complete on its own that it casts a shadow onto Part 1.That release was intentionally floaty and unmoored in its sound, reflecting the tension and fear of an encroaching ending, its lyrical allegory partially obscured by the streamlined production. Now, Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 2 manages to uncoil those same moments of anxiety but works hard to form a more satisfying answer. The cohesion of Part 2 makes a Foals listener wonder what Part 1 tracks "Syrups" or "Sunday" might have sounded like in this new arrangement, where the existential angst is less of a set decoration and more of a conversation. As a sequel, Part 2 doesn't just finish what was started in Part 1; its battle cry lyrics and thoughtful scope create a more forgiving story.

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MUSIC

Louis Tomlinson Wants to Be in Oasis So Bad

"Kill My Mind" is an Oasis rip off in the least flattering way.

Louis Tomlinson wants us to know that he's been listening to rock music.

Louis Tomlinson - Kill My Mind (Official Lyric Video)www.youtube.com

In an awkward 2017 profile with The Guardian, the former One Direction member described himself as "forgettable" and endorsed the idea that he was the "lowliest" member of the group, citing the fact that he never had a single vocal solo during his time with the band. "I'm trying to work out why it is that I'm [doing this]," he said, as a few offerings off his upcoming solo album played in the background. So he did what any uninspired artist would do: he went back to his "roots" and listened to the music he grew up with. "I grew up loving bands," Tomlinson told MTV. "Because I'm from the north of England naturally everyone's obsessed with Oasis and Arctic Monkeys." Consequently, Tomlinson's new single, "Kill My Mind," sounds like a mediocre tribute to early aughts British rock.

"Kill My Mind" is melodically reminiscent of a 2006 Arctic Monkeys B-side, while lyrics like, "kept me living from the last time, from a prison of a past life," attempt to carry the metaphorical significance of an Oasis record, but mostly just don't make any sense. Tomlinson's attempt at a low nasally growl when he sings, "and you hate me, and I want more," just sounds like Liam Gallagher mimicry. Thematically, Tomlinson's wish-washy narrative makes it sound like he's trying to appear more prolific and rock-and-roll-esque than he actually is. Even the lyric video shows a cartoon Tomlinson directly copying the outfit and stance of Liam Gallagher during an Oasis performance. All of it feels fraudulent, none of it is compelling, and all of it suggests Tomlinson would rather be a third Gallagher brother than himself.