From sweaty house shows to festival headline slots, Foals’ rise to the top of the British indie pack is a story for the ages. With every release, they’ve fine-tuned their assault. From the spasmodic math-rock of debut album ‘Antidotes’, through to the more danceable textures of ‘Total Life Forever’, onto the anthemic juggernauts of ‘Holy Fire’ and ‘What Went Down’, theirs has been a confident, fired-up progression from record-to-record.
They came good on the progression with their first album of 2019, ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt.1’, which we have a whopping five-stars and has since been nominated for a Mercury Prize.
But it doesn’t stop there. Oh yes, there’s a second album coming this year titled, ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt.2’ and here’s absolutely every single piece of information we’ve gleamed from the band about it so far.
What’s new?
- ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt.2’ will be released on October 18
- The first single ‘Black Bull’ is out now! Take a listen below
- The full tracklisting has now been revealed, scroll on for it in full
What is the new Foals album called?
In January, the band confirmed that the record would be split into two parts but both share the same title, ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost’.
Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost
Part 1
Part 2
2019 pic.twitter.com/5Twuk8tSDP— FOALS (@foals) January 9, 2019
When will the new Foals album be released?
‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Pt. 2’ will be released on October 18. This was confirmed in Instagram post by the band, with a pre-order set for Thursday (August 1) – that’ll likely confirm tracklist and coincide with new music.
When can we hear new music?
Right now! The band have shared new single ‘Black Bull’, premiering it on Annie Mac’s Radio One show on August 1.
In a glowing five-star review, NME said of the track: “By far the most violent, conflicted and urgent thing they’ve recorded, it seems Foals have finally managed in capturing the mindless abandon of their live shows. For the first time on record they have no inhibitions. The beast is well and truly out of the cage.”
When the album’s release date was confirmed, the band shared a teaser video and announced that the tracklist would be available on August 1.
The band have been performing the track while on tour this summer. ‘Black Bull’ has been aired at shows in London, Dublin and Manchester, and it sounds a little bit like this…
The band had hinted that this would likely be the first single from ‘…Pt.2’. Speaking to NME at Glastonbury, Yannis said that the song is “probably on the nastier end. I think we’re gonna put that out first just because we love it. It’s fairly representative of the album, I’d say.”
What’s the tracklist?
It’s as follows:
- Red Desert
- The Runner
- Wash Off
- Black Bull
- Like Lightning
- Dreaming Of
- Ikaria
- 10,000 Feet
- Into the Surf
- Neptune
What does the album artwork look like?
Maggie Steber is credited with Part 2’s striking artwork. Take a look below.
How long had Foals been working on new material?
The band announced they were back in the studio towards the end of 2017, with frontman Yannis Philippakis confirming they had begun writing new tunes in October. The two records were made at the same time, with ‘…Pt 1’ being released in March and now the second part in October.
“The lyrical threads are through both records,” frontman Yannis Philippakis told NME. “It’s not yin and yang or anything corny like that. You can also tell that it’s a band working in the same space over the same period of time. If you were to put it crudely, the first record is probably more keyboard-driven and has slightly more of a new wave feel to it. Then album two has more of the heavier rock frenetic energy. “
What will the rest of Foals’ new album sound like?
Well, ‘…Pt.1’ should give you a bit of a hint where the the band are at right now. We called it their “best album to date” in our five-star review, and lauded their experimentation and blend of rock and electronic elements.
Speaking to NME, Foals’ Yannis has hinted at a even bigger sound for ‘…Pt.2’. “Part two is a heavier listen, the guitars are more emphasised and there’s some big riffs on it,” he told NME at the Mercury Prize nominations ceremony in July. “It’s a rock record and it definitely carries on the narrative from part one. Part one ended with a lot of fire and destructive imagery, part two is trying to respond to that: how you can continue in the wreckage and through the scorched earth?”
The band expanded on the pacing of the new album speaking to NME at Glastonbury. “What’s been nice about is that we’ve been off touring and I haven’t listened to it that much,” said drummer Jack Bevan. “I listened to it from start to finish when we had it mastered and it’s a fucking bangsman. It is a proper banger. I just don’t think that people will expect that of ‘Part 2’. To me, as a cynical bastard, if someone was going to put out an album in two parts then you’d top-load it on the first one and then have all the boring stuff on the second one. Actually, we’ve flip-reversed it.”
What will Foals new album explore lyrically?
Speaking at Oxford Union in October 2017, Yannis discussed “certain events that have happened here and in America, and generally the global climate,” citing a Twitter account called Extinction Symbol as something that ‘keeps him up at night’.
“It makes me feel really bad to be a 21st Century human,” he revealed. “I think, in some ways, that might emanate in the record.”
Those comments were echoed in an interview with NME, in which Yannis hinted that their record might take a more outward-looking viewpoint, lyrically. “I think the world is obviously affecting the way we feel as individuals,” he said. “I definitely feel that when I’m writing lyrics or music, that it’s in dialogue with what’s going on around me in isolation – so I’m sure there will be things in the lyrics to do with, not just the political climate but also the environmental situation that’s happening now. I think that it will be there.”
Will Foals tour in 2019?
The band have been touring throughout 2019 and look set for a few more dates to round out the year. Here’s where you can catch them…
AUGUST
1-3 – Szene Open Air, Lustenaru, Austria
1-3 – Off Festival, Poland
7-11 – Boardmasters, Newquay
14 – Moonstar Studio, Thailand
16 – Summer Sonic, Osaka, Japan
17 – Summer Sonic, Tokyo, Japan
22 – Zurich Open Air, Switzerland
23 – Check In Party, France
24 – Le Cabaret Vert, France
25 – Rock En Seine, France
27 – Art Platform, Ukraine
29 – Adrenaline Stadium, Moscow, Russia
30 – Morze, St. Petersburg, Russia