2. Foals - Spanish Sahara

I talked in an earlier blog post about how Foal’s were the unexpected saviours of the indie movement. How they were talked up before they released anything from the new album, saying it was a brilliant and unexpected change. No-one really believed it until they heard it. This is a truly stunning 7 minute epic, which starts of so tenderly, with Yanis Phillapakis showing a falsetto that many of us thought he couldn’t have, after the main shouting with which Foals made their career. It both stunned people and brought them together in a truly unique moment that’s rarely ever captured, silence on the radio.


Inspired by a dead dog he saw floating in a river, they set out to create this epic, not only expelling everything they’ve done since in a way that only a few have before them. The song builds and builds for 4 minutes, building complete tension with the listener before releasing the explosion of utter euphoria for the last 3 minute which is reached with the refrain of’ I’m the fury in your head/I’m the fury in your bed/I’m the ghost in the back of your head,’ where the song whirls around you, like a temperamental ghost in a bad dream, refusing to let you it’s spell until you wake up in the middle of the night to the chilling ending synth sounds at the end and you realise, it’s just a dream, but one you won’t forget in a hurry. So here’s to Foals, creating something that is truly memorable, from the most unlikely of sources. Completely unforgettable.

16. Foals - Total Life Forever

For many, Foals had been written off as a run of the mill Indie pop group, mindlessly singing songs about Balloons and running across the stage like an actor with his hair on fire. They certainly aren’t the most charming of bands as many will agree. But there was something different about them, something that made us interested and excited for where they would go to next. Maybe it was the fact that they were all from Oxford like a certain other famous rock band and at that, Oxford University drop outs, or maybe it was the fact that we were generally lost in search of a indie band that could pull us out of the slump at the start of the year and we clung onto Foals hoping they’d see us through. We were right. Their second album was one of the year’s best and the title track was a fantastic mix of afro- Caribbean fuelled dance and experimentation. The irresistible beat glittered with sprinklings of different guitars, keyboards and a funky bass line made this an immediate summer hit at festivals and sweaty summer parties alike. Even better live.