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Date: 10/04/2007
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by Dom Gourlay
Pictures: Gary Wolstenholme

Another day another buzz band comes to town, although at least it seems some of the hype around tonight's headliners is justified. Or maybe the warm Easter sunshine has gone to DiS's heads and we're feeling a tad generous?

First things first, however, and in this case first on is a bloke from Esher called Nigel who makes music that sounds like Jamie T pilfering Napoleon IIIrd's beats for what seems to be known as ‘street poetry’ these days. Going by the name of Somebody, although the initial feeling is one of déjà vu, his short set is actually quite charming and turns out to be a pleasant-enough introduction to this evening's proceedings.

But what is it with the current fad for using old, knackered equipment, most notably of the keyboard variety? It's not big, it's not clever, and it doesn't enhance a band's quality one bit, particularly when there are no interesting songs of note in the first place. Sure, Post War Years seem an affable bunch, but their grinding new-wave-cum-disco seems to be six parts Cold War Kids and four parts The Rapture, without possessing the intensity or urgency of either. Still, they're only young I suppose. Time is on their side.

Youth, and a youthful playfulness, is something that Foals have at the moment, and they have used constructively to their advantage over the past few months.

There are moments when one doesn't know if the song they're currently playing is going to erupt into an explosion of visceral guitar improvisation a la GY!BE, or turn into the next 'House Of Jealous Lovers' whilst exchanging telephone numbers with Bloc Party along the way. In fact, this is possibly the main reason why Foals are so damn captivating at present, and yet by the same token why they can occasionally have their audiences in bouts of frustration. This is especially apparent when the band seem unsure themselves, at one point, as to what they're trying to achieve.

What is blatantly obvious, however, is that tonight's crowd absolutely adores them - mess-ups and all - and the frenetic, occasionally chaotic and unstable relationship between band and audience never subsides from the first chord to the last note they play. Sometimes it really is hard to tell the songs apart, although current single 'Hummer' seems to herald a defining moment for the band both in terms of stature and sound, but at least they're trying to make a difference without being too smart (and inaccessible) for their own ends.

One thing's for certain: with Foals’ musical sphere subject to constant change, whatever they do and wherever they go next is sure to be one hell of an erratic-but-exciting adventure.

Post a new comment on this review

??!?!?

Post War Years are amazing! And to those who know me, I'm not just saying that!


agreed,

2nd time ive seen them at the social,
and they were top notch.

foals = amaaazing live
some body i hope never gets a backing band, he is wonderfully charming, and his innocence works brilliantly on stage!


Post War Years

Thought they were a pretty poor band really. Seemed to be playing discoy stuff for the sake of it, rather than having the slightest grasp of what makes it fun or it adding a thing to their songs. Strip that away and their just a rubbish version of Cold War Kids. Somewhat ironic given the name. 3 or 4 out of 10 from me for them.


I saw Foals in Camden...

...and they blew me away.

They really seem like a band that doesn't know what's about to happen next on stage, which is mightily endearing in front of such a large and attentive audience.

There's an almost fugazi-ish vibe about the whole thing, which I'm sure will cease the minute megastardom ensues.

Not any kind of criticism at all, but that haphazard spontinaity simply won't be ALLOWED to exist when a few techs are thrown into the mix.

They're still Awesome...


post war years

= so so so good. better than cold war kids.


mmm... i saw...

Foals in Camden at NW1, Camden Crawl thing...

Hate to say it... but... best gig of my life. Easily. Wow. Electricity man.

Electric Shocks indeed!...





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