Foals: Tapes (!K7)

Reviewed for Under The Radar Magazine:

Foals Tapes (!K7)

The Tapes series is a chance for indie band types to impress you with the wildly diverse and unexpected music they listen to. This may or may not have any correlation with how they sound as a band. As the name implicitly states, Tapes is set up like the classic mixtapes of yore with one side dedicated to songs, the other to tracks.

The third installment in this series from Oxford, England’s Foals takes the meaning of eclectic to another level. Don’t get caught up in the questionable mixing abilities of the selectors. Focus instead on the crossing of genres and spanning of eras. Notice how tightly Marshall Jefferson vs. Noosahead’s moody house shuffler “Mushrooms (Justin Martin Mix)” fits with Caribou’s bubbling “Sun (Midland Edit) and the electro-funk of Dorian Concept’s “Tropical Hands.” Best of all, Foals throw in the blueprint party starter “Confusion (Ma Afrika)” from Condry Ziqubu, which alone is worth the price of the mix.

Preview the whole album on iTunes.