After their grooviest output yet, album Holy Fire (released February 11th on Transgressive Records), Foals follows up the extremely unsettling video for “Late Night.” A video with an ending scene that depicts a man hanging himself with another assumedly deathly scenario.
Foals are making a tradition of these NSFW videos. The opening scene of “Bad Habit” finds Foals’ lead singer Yannis Philippakis collapsed in the dessert. Suddenly Yannis is spurred on by the band’s trademark spunky guitar lines as he stumbles after a nude woman, representative of, “A bad habit. one he cannot shake.” One he urges “not to follow.” Heedless to his own advice, Yannis chases this woman further into the dessert. And as the song climaxes in a sparkling, frantic guitar solo, the oasis before Yannis’ eyes collapses, leaving him stranded, struggling in the dessert.
The video serves as the perfect showcase for Foals’ new, funkier sound which may lack in the intense introspective nature of previous releases that sometimes left Foals sounding like rock’s awkward little brother. This, along with songs like “My Number,” are a step towards a dancier, much more fun version of Foals–more akin to the pure pleasure Two Door Cinema Club pumps out. Something appropriate to bump at dancehalls and not just bedrooms with vinyl players.
Nabil, the director of this video, has a knack for these nihilistic visual accompaniments. He’s also worked with the Yeezus-dropping Internet-breaking Kanye West, creating pairings for the solitary sounds of “Welcome to Heartbreak” and “Coldest Winter” from his album 808s & Heartbreaks.
Speaking of Kanye, he (He?) could surely offer the most succinct summary of a man’s quest for the bare lady through the dessert: He thirsty.
