Foals offer up the second half of their 2019 double album, following the March release of Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 1. Part 2 features lyrics that chart an expanse, from assertive confidence to poetic, natural imagery, used to explore themes of death and rebirth.
Part 2 drives home the sheer breadth of Foals' abilities, billed as more of a rock record than its predecessor, yet it spans from contemplative, piano- and bass-driven balladry ("Into the Surf") to the rich emotive qualities of "Neptune," the final ten-minute-long track, with frontman Yannis Philippakis reflecting on leaving "the white wards of England" behind.
There is an invigorating energy to Part 2, heard in poppier tracks such as single "The Runner," and "Wash Off," both songs capturing a feeling of risk as Philippakis's narrator pursues an escape. The album's dense riffs are most impactful on "Dreaming Of," whose barbed guitars shape shift from pop introspection to bass-led insistence.
The care put into the record's instrumental bridging tracks, including the echo back to Part 1 featured on "Into the Surf" make the album and its tracks feel of a piece. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost — Part 2 is at once a satisfying and boundary-pushing listen from a band that sound hungry over a decade into their career.
(Transgressive / Warner)Part 2 drives home the sheer breadth of Foals' abilities, billed as more of a rock record than its predecessor, yet it spans from contemplative, piano- and bass-driven balladry ("Into the Surf") to the rich emotive qualities of "Neptune," the final ten-minute-long track, with frontman Yannis Philippakis reflecting on leaving "the white wards of England" behind.
There is an invigorating energy to Part 2, heard in poppier tracks such as single "The Runner," and "Wash Off," both songs capturing a feeling of risk as Philippakis's narrator pursues an escape. The album's dense riffs are most impactful on "Dreaming Of," whose barbed guitars shape shift from pop introspection to bass-led insistence.
The care put into the record's instrumental bridging tracks, including the echo back to Part 1 featured on "Into the Surf" make the album and its tracks feel of a piece. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost — Part 2 is at once a satisfying and boundary-pushing listen from a band that sound hungry over a decade into their career.