03. Foals - Total Life Forever

03 FOALS Total Life Forever (Sub Pop) RIYL: Yeasayer Mute Math Local Natives   Oh, the wonders of music. I literally heard of this band for the first time two weeks ago, when I stumbled upon them on Last.fm's 'Best of 2010' list. I'm always itching for new music, so I checked them out on a whim, and from my first listen, I was instantly hooked. It's groovy ("Miami"), soaring ("Spanish Sahara"), explosive ("After Glow"), and brooding ("Alabaster") in all the right places. They masterfully utilize dance-y bass-laden riffs, auxiliary percussion, and harmonious vocals without letting any one thing define them. While each track has a very different feel and focus, there's no sense of chaos -- Total Life Forever intrigues throughout and moves from track to track with a sense of purpose. The depth of the album can be seen as the punchier, driven songs of the first half climax halfway through "After Glow" (at about 3:00 it erupts -- probably my favorite part on the whole album) and make way for a more swooning and atmospheric latter half. I'm glad I discovered this album when I did, and it's going to be getting a lot of spins as I make up for lost time in 2011. Listen: After Glow Purchase Total Life Forever: CD / MP3