Antidotes (album)

Antidotes is the debut studio album by British indie rock band Foals. It was released on 24 March 2008 in the United Kingdom on Transgressive Records,[1] and on 8 April 2008 in the United States through Sub Pop.[2]

Antidotes
Studio album by Foals
Released	24 March 2008
Recorded	Summer 2007
Studio	Stay Gold (Brooklyn, NY)
Genre	Indie rock dance-punk post-punk revival math rock
Length	46:49
Label	Transgressive Sub Pop
Producer	Foals Dave Sitek
Foals chronology
Antidotes (2008) Total Life Forever (2010)
Singles from Antidotes
"Balloons" Released: 10 December 2007 "Cassius" Released: 10 March 2008 "Red Socks Pugie" Released: 9 June 2008 "Olympic Airways" Released: 6 October 2008

The album's themes are varied and cryptic, but are generally melancholic and focused on relationships. They are exemplified by the four singles: "Balloons", "Cassius", "Red Socks Pugie", and "Olympic Airways".

Recording

The album was recorded in Stay Gold Studios Brooklyn in summer 2007,[3] and was produced by TV on the Radio's Dave Sitek. However, Foals remixed Antidotes in London, complaining that he made it sound like it was "recorded in the Grand Canyon."[4]

However, in an interview with MusFlashTV, Foals' drummer Jack Bevan said, "Our producer, David Sitek was great because he didn't interfere in the actual recording progress. We kind of engineered it so that we would get the tracks down, get all of the sort of essential parts down and then, halfway through the recording he kind of came in, and when we were doing overdubs and that kind of thing, he sort of started to assist us with making it sort of fill out." Yannis added "All the sounds were there, and he added a depth. He messed with the spaces around the sounds so there's this weird ambience on all the tracks."[5]

The tracking of the parts was unorthodox in many ways ranging from drums recorded in alleyways on cassette tape recorders and then reprocessed through outboard gear to vocals being sung while moving round the room and brass performed by members of Antibalas Afrobeat Orchestra directed to not play directly into the microphones.

Reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	74/100
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[6]
Drowned in Sound	(9/10)[7]
Gigwise	[8]
The Guardian	[9]
NME	(7/10)[10]
The Observer	[11]
Pitchfork Media	(5.9/10)[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
The Times	[14]
Uncut	[15]

It peaked at number three in the UK Albums Chart.[16] In the US, it reached a high of number 28 in Top Heatseekers, but failed to chart in the Billboard Top 200.[17]

According to Metacritic, the album received "generally favourable reviews" from critics.[18]

Track listing

No.	Title	Length
1.	"The French Open"	3:45
2.	"Cassius"	3:50
3.	"Red Socks Pugie"	5:15
4.	"Olympic Airways"	4:12
5.	"Electric Bloom"	4:56
6.	"Balloons"	3:00
7.	"Heavy Water"	4:32
8.	"Two Steps, Twice"	4:41
9.	"Big Big Love (Fig. 2)"	5:45
10.	"Like Swimming"	2:01
11.	"Tron"	4:53

US Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Hummer"	2:56
13.	"Mathletics"	3:09

Japanese Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Mathletics"	3:09
13.	"Hummer"	2:56
14.	"Brazil Is Here"	4:21

Spotify Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Brazil Is Here"	4:22
13.	"Dearth"	3:02

Tour Edition Bonus Tracks

No.	Title	Length
12.	"Titan Arum"
13.	"Gold Gold Gold"	5:50
14.	"Mathletics"	3:09
15.	"Hummer"	2:56

UK Special Edition Bonus Disc

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Hummer"	2:59
2.	"Astronauts and All"	3:11
3.	"Mathletics"	3:11
4.	"Big Big Love (Fig. 1)"	4:41
5.	"XXXXX" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007)	1:56
6.	"The French Open" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007)	3:00
7.	"Balloons" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007)	3:01
8.	"Two Steps, Twice" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007)	4:32
9.	"Mathletics" (Live at Liars Club, Nottingham, Feb 10th 2007)	3:21

Chart positions

Country	Peak position	Certification	Sales
United Kingdom	#3	Gold [19]	25,292 (first week)
Japan	#80		2,521 (first week)
France	#84
The Netherlands	#99
New Zealand	#99
U.S. Top Heatseekers	#28

Personnel

Foals

• Yannis Philippakis – vocals, guitar, drums
• Jack Bevan – drums
• Jimmy Smith – guitar
• Walter Gervers – bass, backing vocals
• Edwin Congreave – keyboard, backing vocals

Additional musicians

• Stuart Bogie – saxophone
• Aaron Johnson – trombone
• Eric Biondo – trumpet

Technical personnel

• Tinhead – artwork
• Alan Labiner – engineering
• Chris Coady – engineering
• John Valencia – engineering
• Guy Davie – mastering
• Mike Crossey – mixing
• David Andrew Sitek – producer
• L. Hris Moore – recording assistant

References

1. Diver, Mike (February 15, 2008). "Review: Foals - Antidotes". Drowned in Sound. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
2. Brown, Marisa. "Antidotes - Overview". Allmusic. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
3. Murphy, Lauren (2008-04-08). "Foals - Antidotes". entertainment.ie. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
4. "Foals - Foals - Album Reviews". Nme.Com. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
5. "Foals exclusive interview on MusFlashTV". Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via www.youtube.com.
6. Brown, Marisa (2008-04-08). "Allmusic review". Allmusic.com. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
7. Diver, Mike (2008-02-15). "Drowned in Sound review". Drownedinsound.com. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
8. "Gigwise review". Gigwise.com. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
9. Dave Simpson (2008-03-21). "The Guardian review". London: Music.guardian.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
10. "NME review". Nme.com. 2008-03-12. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
11. Guardian Staff (February 17, 2008). "Reviews 11-25". Archived from the original on February 20, 2008. Retrieved November 24, 2019 – via www.theguardian.com.
12. "Pitchfork Media review". May 2012.
13. "Rolling Stone review". Rollingstone.com. Archived from the original on 2009-05-03. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
14. "The Times review". Entertainment.timesonline.co.uk. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
15. "Uncut review". Uncut.co.uk. 2012-04-23. Retrieved 2012-05-12.
16. Sharp, Rob (25 September 2008). "Foals, Hoxton Hall, London". The Independent. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
17. "Artist Chart History - Foals". Billboard. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
18. "Foals: Antidotes (2008): Reviews". www.metacritic.com. Retrieved 2009-05-27.
19. "Certified Awards". Bpi.co.uk. Archived from the original on 2010-01-17. Retrieved 2012-05-12.