Foals - What Went Down

From ominous organs to the first crunch of thunder, everything about Foals’ ‘What Went Down’ is more than just a return. It’s a band seizing the momentum of their headline-worthy ‘Holy Fire’ and burying the flag in higher climes. What began as a ‘what if’ is now an absolute certainty - we’re witnessing one of the country’s biggest bands racing to the top.

An unrelenting force it might be, but ‘What Went Down’ isn’t just brash and loud. It has Yannis Philippakis barking about a “port wine stain” like a middle-class murderer on the loose. It shows dynamism and depth before going for the breathless jugular. Above anything else, it’s quintessential Foals, a band with hundreds of neat quirks that when packed together, form something unstoppable.

Opening the group’s fourth album, it’s without doubt the most in-your-face, all-affirming song Foals could have returned with. A galloping synth mid-section reaches for the skies, before Yannis breaks it down with possessed “you’re the apple of my eye” chants. Across five minutes, Foals seem to channel every aspect of their absorbing split-personality - it results in their biggest track to date, hands down.