Foals' drummer Jack Bevan is standing in his living room when he picks up the phone to have a chat.
He's extremely chipper and excited to talk about the release of the English rock group's sixth studio album 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part Two' (‘ENSWBL’), the sequel to 'Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part One' released earlier this year. “We first started writing at the end of 2017,” Jack says.
“Then [we] recorded both albums in 2018. And yeah, we've been touring 'Part One' since March. All in all, it's been two years between when we started writing and now. So we’re very keen to be finally putting the whole thing out.”
Although the project was a long one, Jack assures the recording of 'ENSWBL' has been his favourite recording process. “This time we did things really differently; well, we didn’t use a producer; Yannis [Foals lead singer] took the helm, which is the first time we've done that.”
This approach opened up more room for creative freedom and improvisation in the studio, meaning they could delve deeper into ideas and tangents as they arose, spacing the recording out over the year instead of smashing it out in a two to three month period.
Not that Foals have ever shied away from experimentation in the studio. During the recording of their 2013 album 'Holy Fire', Foals were reportedly inspired by Haitian voodoo and went and sourced cow bones to decorate the studio with and use as percussive instruments. “We always try to make the studio an artistic space,” Jack says.
“So that’s what we were doing with the bones. We put plants and bones around the room to create a certain feeling. But this time, without sounding cheesy, after so many years on the road this record was sort of like a homecoming.
“The studio was in Peckham. I could literally cycle in and we all lived within a mile of each other. And for some reason coming home to record made us feel like we sort of didn’t need any of that stuff.”
With devastating fires ripping through the Amazon and with members of Extinction Rebellion filling the streets, it’s safe to say Foals have released 'ENSWBL' at a very poignant time. The double album offers a vision and reflection of the crisis we're currently in and what we may be headed towards.
“There’s been a lot of lyrics Yannis has written across all of the records that have pointed to the way the world is going, and not in a good way. But I think more than ever with these records, Yannis has tapped into the panic of now.
“Seeing that the world is kind of f...ed and feeding into the stress caused by the fact that the people in power – who should be paying the most attention – all seem to be looking the other way.”
What do Foals plan to do once the apocalypse arrives and there are no stages left to play on; will they perhaps be returning to their early days of playing free house concerts? “Well, if there’s any houses left maybe we will,” Jack laughs.
“Otherwise, I think we’ll have to build a big floating boat out of cow bones, move all our fans on to it, and play out on the endless sea.”
