Antidotes (Cd Album) [CD]

It's hardly the cure for anything but Antidotes, the debut album from Oxford's Foals, is a strong addition to the eternal tradition of dance-friendly art rock most recently exemplified by Franz Ferdinand and Klaxons. The five ex-public schoolboys that make up Oxford's Foals are hardly lacking self-confidence--comically cocky frontman Yannis Phillipakis could annoy for the nation and the band rejected producer David Sitek's original mix--but Antidotes is anything but pony. After spending their youth in rigorous "math rock" outfits, Foals started out in 2005 with the stated intention of having fun. Rather delightfully, this amounted to the discovery that audiences are well disposed to acts they can dance to. A clutch of well-received singles and a guest spot on popular sixth-form satire Skins sealed their popularity. Their origins in academic rock are sometimes obvious, but fine drummer Jack Bevan keeps things moving throughout. Opener "The French Open", with its gleeful chanted vocals (in French) and fashionable Afrobeat tinged guitar lines, evokes Talking Heads' dada nonsense classic "I Zimbra", itself older than any Foal. First top thirty hit "Cassius" saw jazz-punk back in the charts for the first time since that perennial football crowd favourite "Papa's Got a Brand New Pigbag". "Olympic Airways" is a charming if oblique tale of escape that couldn't be further from the bus stop/chip shop style while "Red Socks Pugie" already sounds like a single in waiting. The lyrics might charitably be described as impressionistic and Phillipakis's voice remains nondescript. But with better tunes than Bloc Party and a self-conscious precision that recalls Mogwai in their pomp, the effortlessly pretentious Foals are unmistakably the sound of 2008. --Steve Jelbert

Hype is a double-edged sword. Bands, including this smart Oxford mob, sometimes complain that being endlessly praised early in their careers creates unrealistic expectations. But they also realise that being widely feted by critics helps attract new fans.

On this evidence Foals have nothing to worry about, hype or not. Antidotes is so far advanced of the UK indie pack it's as if frontman, Yannis Philippakis, and his bandmates are laughing at their contemporaries from outer space.Their mastery of tune construction is utterly surprising. It's all very well being clever and unexpected with changes of tempo and key changes, but to actually work this into songs that are anthemic and at times relentlessly funky is no mean feat.

A lot of this is owed to drummer, Jack Bevan. Balloons, for example, is underpinned by slowed down drum 'n' bass beats, joined by creeping horns and an insistent and fluid trebly guitar riff (a Foals trademark). The resulting infectious groove encourages unbridled dancing from every sentient listener.

At the heart of this band is set of pleasing contradictions. Aside from the unusual way they marry melodic sensibilities with avant garde percussive noises and riffs that'd be at home on a Battles record, there's the seriousness factor. Certainly the lyrical concerns, which Yannis said last year were often related to dreams and visual ideas, ostensibly centre around destruction and desertion.

In the extraordinary, sky-scraping Red Socks Pugie listeners hear of, ''Heartswells which make us explode'', before the nihilistic, ''Oh what the hell, we set it on fire''. In the reflective Olympic Airways, the idea is to ''disappear until tomorrow!if only we could move away from here''.

Thoughtful stuff, but when a band joke at industry shindigs about mugging The Hoosiers, you know they're up for a laugh, too.

There are many more reasons to love Antidotes from the clear influence of dance music throughout, to the way Like Swimming is a rare instrumental that is not only worthy of inclusion on an album, but actually merits more than its short length.

But what matters, aside from individual moments of excellence, is that Foals only real, current peers are truly great bands from abroad like Arcade Fire and Vampire Weekend. Believe the hype, because there won't be a better British debut album this year. --Lou Thomas

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What links the minimalism of American composer Steve Reich, guitars that sound like insects and tennis player Andy Roddick? The answer is one word: Foals. The explanation is a bit more complicated. Let's start at the beginning. Foals are a five-piece dance-rock band currently living in their home town Oxford. Yannis Philippakis (20, vocals/guitar), Edwin Congreave (22, keyboards), Walter Gervers (23, bass), Jimmy Smith (22, guitar) and Jack Bevan (21, drums) met in their native city, where they bonded over a shared sense of humour. Bored with the interchangeable electro records they heard at every party, they decided to make the kind of music they wanted to dance to. "We wanted to make music that was very technical, that wasn't just party music, but at the same time you could dance to it," explains Yannis.

First they christened themselves Foals. It was a nod to Yannis' surname, which means "little lover of horses" in Greek. "I like Foals because it's a nice word and it doesn't give away what the band is about," he explains. "It sounds fresh and new."

Then they installed themselves in a tiny rehearsal room and started bouncing ideas off one another. Tensions ran high. "I was shocked by how critical every one was of each other," says Edwin. "We've always been very self-critical," expands Yannis. "There was an almost dangerous amount of criticism." If the high-pressure atmosphere strained intra-band relations, they quickly identified a winning formula: driving percussion high in the mix, guitars played above the 12th fret, no chords and splashes of synth colour. The result was pristine, perfectly formed dance rock such as Balloons, Hummer and Two Steps Twice.

Live, Foals don't so much fizz with energy as explode like a well-shaken bottle of champagne. "It's like we're all battling for supremacy on stage," says Edwin. The dance-inflected beats have seen them rock venues ranging from the kitchen at a house party to London warehouse parties.

The sometimes surreal lyrical imagery is complimented by Foals' artwork, all of which is created by the "sixth member of the band", Tinhead. "He creates something visual that matches what we want the music to sound like," says Yannis. "There are all these weird lines, humming birds and bright colours.

But what about Andy Roddick?

"I read a book by David Foster Wallace called Infinite Jest," says Yannis. "It's about drugs and tennis. I'm fascinated with tennis. I like Roddick because he's an all American hero; he could be out of The Great Gatsby. He's got the fastest serve ever. It's beautiful. It's like ballet. It's so clinical. I'm more into Andy Roddick than any musician. I based the lyrics for our song The French Open on the Andy Roddick/Lacost advert."

"No, we don't understand his obsession with Roddick either," says Edwin.

A strange story then. But already a fascinating one. And it's only just started.