Antidotes is the debut studio album by British indie rock band Foals. It was released on 24 March 2008 in the United Kingdom on Transgressive Records,[1] and on 8 April 2008 in the United States through Sub Pop.[2]
| Antidotes | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | 24 March 2008 | |||
| Recorded | Summer 2007 | |||
| Studio | Stay Gold (Brooklyn, NY) | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 46:49 | |||
| Label | ||||
| Producer |
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| Foals chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Antidotes | ||||
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The album's themes are varied and cryptic, but are generally melancholic and focused on relationships. They are exemplified by the four singles: "Balloons", "Cassius", "Red Socks Pugie", and "Olympic Airways".
Recording
editThe album was recorded in Stay Gold Studios Brooklyn in summer 2007,[3] and was produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek. However, Foals remixed Antidotes in London, complaining that he made it sound like it was "recorded in the Grand Canyon."[4]
However, in an interview with MusFlashTV, Foals' drummer Jack Bevan said, "Our producer, David Sitek was great because he didn't interfere in the actual recording progress. We kind of engineered it so that we would get the tracks down, get all of the sort of essential parts down and then, halfway through the recording he kind of came in, and when we were doing overdubs and that kind of thing, he sort of started to assist us with making it sort of fill out." Yannis added "All the sounds were there, and he added a depth. He messed with the spaces around the sounds so there's this weird ambience on all the tracks."[5]
The tracking of the parts was unorthodox in many ways ranging from drums recorded in alleyways on cassette tape recorders and then reprocessed through outboard gear to vocals being sung while moving round the room and brass performed by members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra directed to not play directly into the microphones.
Reception
edit| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 74/100 |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| AllMusic |   [6] |
| Drowned in Sound | (9/10)[7] |
| Gigwise |  [8] |
| The Guardian | [9] |
| NME | (7/10)[10] |
| The Observer | [11] |
| Pitchfork Media | (5.9/10)[12] |
| Rolling Stone | [13] |
| The Times | [14] |
| Uncut | [15] |
It peaked at number three in the UK Albums Chart.[16] In the US, it reached a high of number 28 in Top Heatseekers, but failed to chart in the Billboard Top 200.[17]
According to Metacritic, the album received "generally favourable reviews" from critics.[18]
Track listing
edit| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "The French Open" | 3:45 |
| 2. | "Cassius" | 3:50 |
| 3. | "Red Socks Pugie" | 5:15 |
| 4. | "Olympic Airways" | 4:12 |
| 5. | "Electric Bloom" | 4:56 |
| 6. | "Balloons" | 3:00 |
| 7. | "Heavy Water" | 4:32 |
| 8. | "Two Steps, Twice" | 4:41 |
| 9. | "Big Big Love (Fig. 2)" | 5:45 |
| 10. | "Like Swimming" | 2:01 |
| 11. | "Tron" | 4:53 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Hummer" | 2:56 |
| 13. | "Mathletics" | 3:09 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 14. | "Dearth" | 3:02 |
| 15. | "Titan Arum" | 5:09 |
| 16. | "Gold Gold Gold" | 5:48 |
| 17. | "Glaciers" | 7:46 |
| 18. | "Astronauts and All" | 3:10 |
| 19. | "Big Big Love (Fig. 1)" | 4:39 |
| 20. | "Brazil Is Here" | 4:21 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Mathletics" | 3:09 |
| 13. | "Hummer" | 2:56 |
| 14. | "Brazil Is Here" | 4:21 |
| 15. | "Cassius (Music Video)" | |
| 16. | "Balloons (Music Video)" |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Brazil Is Here" | 4:22 |
| 13. | "Dearth" | 3:02 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 12. | "Titan Arum" | |
| 13. | "Gold Gold Gold" | 5:50 |
| 14. | "Mathletics" | 3:09 |
| 15. | "Hummer" | 2:56 |
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Hummer" | 2:59 |
| 2. | "Astronauts and All" | 3:11 |
| 3. | "Mathletics" | 3:11 |
| 4. | "Big Big Love (Fig. 1)" | 4:41 |
| 5. | "XXXXX" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007) | 1:56 |
| 6. | "The French Open" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007) | 3:00 |
| 7. | "Balloons" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007) | 3:01 |
| 8. | "Two Steps, Twice" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007) | 4:32 |
| 9. | "Mathletics" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007) | 3:21 |
Chart positions
edit| Country | Peak position | Certification | Sales |
|---|---|---|---|
| United Kingdom | #3 | Gold [19] | 25,292 (first week) |
| Japan | #80 | 2,521 (first week) | |
| France | #84 | ||
| The Netherlands | #99 | ||
| New Zealand | #99 | ||
| U.S. Top Heatseekers | #28 |
Personnel
edit- Foals
- Yannis Philippakis – vocals, guitar, drums
- Jack Bevan – drums
- Jimmy Smith – guitar
- Walter Gervers – bass, backing vocals
- Edwin Congreave – keyboard, backing vocals
- Additional musicians
- Stuart Bogie – saxophone
- Aaron Johnson – trombone
- Eric Biondo – trumpet
- Technical personnel
- Tinhead – artwork
- Alan Labiner – engineering
- Chris Coady – engineering
- John Valencia – engineering
- Guy Davie – mastering
- Mike Crossey – mixing
- David Andrew Sitek – producer
- L. Hris Moore – recording assistant
References
edit- ^ Diver, Mike (15 February 2008). "Review: Foals - Antidotes". Drowned in Sound. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ Brown, Marisa. "Antidotes - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ Murphy, Lauren (8 April 2008). "Foals - Antidotes". entertainment.ie. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ "Foals - Foals - Album Reviews". Nme.Com. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Foals exclusive interview on MusFlashTV". Archived from the original on 21 December 2021. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
- ^ Brown, Marisa (8 April 2008). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ Diver, Mike (15 February 2008). "Drowned in Sound review". Drownedinsound.com. Archived from the original on 28 September 2012. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Gigwise review". Gigwise.com. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ Dave Simpson (21 March 2008). "The Guardian review". London: Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "NME review". Nme.com. 12 March 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ Guardian Staff (17 February 2008). "Reviews 11-25". Archived from the original on 20 February 2008. Retrieved 24 November 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
- ^ "Pitchfork Media review". Pitchfork. May 2012.
- ^ "Rolling Stone review". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 3 May 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "The Times review". The Times. Archived from the original on 6 July 2008. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ "Uncut review". Uncut.co.uk. 23 April 2012. Archived from the original on 19 May 2011. Retrieved 12 May 2012.
- ^ Sharp, Rob (25 September 2008). "Foals, Hoxton Hall, London". The Independent. Retrieved 27 May 2009.[dead link]
- ^ "Artist Chart History - Foals". Billboard. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ "Foals: Antidotes (2008): Reviews". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 27 May 2009.
- ^ "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 24 September 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2012.