Life Is Yours (London Contemporary Orchestra Session)

Album review

"Life Is Yours" and "Wake Me Up," the opening volley from Foals' buoyant seventh studio effort, evokes Daft Punk by way of Jungle, harnessing the precision-tuned dance-pop of the former and the dark, R&B-tinged cinematics of the latter. Like its predecessor, 2019's apocalyptic double-album Everything Not Saved Will Be Loved, Life Is Yours is far removed from the band's punchy, post-rock past. Their first LP as a trio following the departure of keyboardist Edwin Congreave, the 11-song set delivers a barrage of maximalist pop that ebbs and flows like a long night out. Comprised primarily of party-starters like the disco-tinged "2001," the desperately horny "2am," and the Nile Rodgers-leaning "Wake Me Up," Life Is Yours rarely lets up. Even the cavernous "Crest of the Wave" and the hypnotic, midtempo "Flutter" feel designed to keep arms aloft and glow sticks alight. Over the last few albums, guitarist/vocalist Yannis Philippakis, bassist Jimmy Smith, and drummer Jack Bevan have proven themselves perfectly capable of constructing the sonic architecture to house their dystopian dance-rock. Life Is Yours is the first Foals effort to utilize multiple outside producers (John Hill, Dan Carey, A. K. Paul, and Miles James). Fueled by the long-promised light at the end of the tunnel after the COVID-19 lockdown, it's also the band's most vibrant and accessible outing to date.

© James Christopher Monger /TiVo