Foals: Holy Fire

"[O]n their third album ... the band head off towards a more organic, nature-infused sound (there are bee and swamplife samples) while Yannis [Philippakis] sings lyrics so personal ('Cause I'm a bad habit/One you cannot shake/And I hope that I change') that they apparently made him 'cringe to listen back to.' ... In trying to locate a more primal, honest sound the band went to great lengths, recording in a cramped, smelly studio they hadn't used since they were teenagers. ... 'At one point we even made these poor studio interns collect bones,' says Yannis, who can switch in an instant from being reserved and slightly distant to an enthusiastic storyteller. 'We were inspired by voodoo, these Haitian rhythms. We collected some ourselves, from butchers in Willesden High Road. ... We boiled the flesh away so we could use them as percussion! We wanted to get primitive! ... We hit them together and it sounded like two paintbrushes clinking together. So much effort and so little reward! But it's good to give in to the ritual and mysticisms of making a record rather than sitting down with a nylon string guitar and strumming'" (Tim Jonze, "Foals on Holy Fire," Guardian, 4/25/13).

View catalog record here!