Yahoo! Music Review

Released on 06/10/08
Label: Transgressive

When the time comes to write the chequered history of Bands That Clearly Weren't As Good As They Thought They Were, Foals will surely be the first name on the list. It's hard to pin-point exactly what's standing between their ambition (emotional indie math-rock for the masses, at a guess), their ability (they're competent, no doubt), and the end result, but you could probably decide upon "smugness", and feel that you'd done enough.

"Olympic Airwaves" poses an interesting question. Can you successfully combine the intricacies of math-rock with the stadium dynamics of U2 (specifically that "sparkling" guitar sound)? In theory, it should work - there's a definite link, one which The Edge even touches upon very occasionally - but Foals don't do enough with the idea. Just present it with a knowing smirk and expect the world to fall to its knees. Like most of their songs, "Olympic Airwaves" essentially says: "Look how clever we are, aren't we great?" And you already know the answer to that one...

    by Ian Watson