The Hype: Foals

Foals are a dance-punk band from Oxford. The five-piece group are known through extensive live playing around Great Britain for its mix of indie with elements from techno and math rock. The band has signed with Transgressive Records, and played a number of shows at the 2007 SXSW festival in Austin, Texas.

Jack and Yannis were previously in a math rock band named The Edmund Fitzgerald but this was disbanded after they claimed that things had become "too serious" and they wanted to have more "fun making their music."

Jimmy Smith was previously a student at the University of Hull and graduated in Geography. He played with several small Hull bands during his time at university.

Lead singer of Youthmovie Soundtrack Strategies (now Youthmovies), Andrew Mears, originally formed the band, playing as a guitarist and the lead singer. He was around for their first single release on Try Harder Records, Try This On Your Piano, where they had more of a math rock sound, but left after a few months so he could concentrate on Youthmovies. He was replaced by Edwin, who plays keyboards.

The band has been noted for its high level of technical ability, and their penchant for playing house parties. Unlike other bands, Foals have notably been quite guarded about their demos. Erratic quality control in the songwriting process has left the band hesitant to parade them in front of a wider audience. They have not widely distributed them and have instead opted for their tracks to be streamed only from their Myspace site, except for a free download of "Mathletics" from their live EP.

Foals recently appeared on the Channel 4 music program Transmission. A full length album is due for release for the latter half of 2007, to be produced by Dave Sitek of TV on the Radio. Foals are scheduled to tour extensively throughout Great Britain through the summer and autumn, including several dates backing up Bloc Party in December.

In August 2007, the band appeared in a mini episode of Skins, which aired exclusively on Myspace. The episode mimicked their tendency to play house parties.

The band recently announced that the singles 'Hummer' and 'Mathletics' will not be included on the debut album. Highly Recommended!

Foals - Hummer
Foals - Mathletics
Foals - Cassius
Foals @ MySpace


Foals - Hummer



Foals - Mathletics



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