Foals' 'Holy Fire' review: Blues to disco
Photo credit: Handout | The British band Foal releases "Holy Fire" on Feb. 12, 2013.
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Foals' third album, "Holy Fire" (Warner Bros.), is a glorious addition to the heroic lineage of brainy dance music. The British quintet manages it well, musically crossing Phoenix with Talking Heads, while Yannis Philippakis channels everything from blues to disco in his wide-ranging vocals. "My Number" grooves like it came from "Stop Making Sense," with its sleek synths spiked with African guitar flourishes and David Byrnesque jitters. That immediacy pairs nicely with the delayed reaction from the layered "Milk & Black Spiders," showing how well Foals have all their bases covered.
FOALS
"Holy Fire"
GRADE A-
BOTTOM LINE Rock that makes you think -- and dance
