Total Life Forever is the second studio album by British indie rock band Foals, released on 10 May 2010 through Transgressive Records. Prior to the album's release, the band described it as sounding "like the dream of an eagle dying". It was produced by Luke Smith, and was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenburg. Upon its release, the album charted in numerous countries worldwide, including number eight on the UK Albums Chart.
Promotion and release In January 2009, the band released three semi-instrumental segments of tracks through the band's MySpace profile, giving an insight into the band's recording process. A short three date tour of the United Kingdom took place in April 2009.
During July 2009, the band played an intimate show for Rockfeedback, as a warm up for future festival shows and a chance to debut songs from their second album. On 2 July, the band supported Blur during their reunion show in Hyde Park, London, playing an untitled new song which frontman Yannis Philippakis stated was unfinished. Later the same month, the band appeared at the 2009 T in the Park festival, performing new songs "Total Life Forever" and "Dirty Waves". Both songs had been previously aired during the band's appearance at The Breeders-curated All Tomorrow's Parties festival in May 2009. In September 2009, the band performed at London's Heaven as part of Transgressive Records' fifth anniversary, performing new songs "Spanish Sahara", "Death Surf" and one other untitled track.
The album's title was revealed on 24 February 2010. Zane Lowe premiered the promotional track "Spanish Sahara" on BBC Radio 1, naming the track his "Hottest Record in the World" for 1 March 2010. From 8pm the same day, a remix of the track was made available to download from Foals' official website. The accompanying video was added to Foals' YouTube page on 2 March 2010. A limited number vinyl of "Spanish Sahara" was released on 17 April 2010, to mark the 2010 Record Store Day. In support of the album, the band announced a fourteen date tour of Europe throughout April–May 2010, including dates in Paris, Amsterdam, Berlin and the United Kingdom. These were the band's first live performances of the year.
Following "Spanish Sahara"'s limited release, the album's first official single was announced as "This Orient", released on 3 May 2010. The track reached number 97 on the UK Singles Chart. Second single "Miami" was then released on 4 July 2010. It reached No. 127 on the same chart. Third single "Blue Blood" was released on 8 November 2010.
Reception
Total Life Forever was very well received; many commented how the band's music has matured from their debut album. Review aggregator Metacritic gave the album a normalised rating of 78 out of 100, indicating "generally favourable reviews".
Q magazine's Rupert Howe was more reserved in his praise. Calling it "the schizophrenic second album", Howe opined that "while this album carries more instrumental and emotional heft than its predecessor, something remains off-balance".
Besides being shortlisted for the 2010 Mercury Prize, Total Life Forever brought the band several nominations for the 2011 NME awards, including best album, best track ("Spanish Sahara") and best album artwork.
Accolades Publication Country Accolade Year Rank Beats per Minute US The Top 50 Albums of 2010 2011 43 Clash UK Top 40 Albums Of 2010 2010 7 Consequence of Sound US The Top 100 Albums of 2010 2010 46 DIY UK Albums of the Year 2010 11 Drowned in Sound UK Albums of the Year 2010 33 The Line of Best Fit UK Albums of 2010 2010 20 Mojo UK Top 50 Albums of 2010 2010 25 musicOMH UK Top 50 Albums of 2010 2010 8 NME UK Top 75 Albums of 2010 2010 6 Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s 2019 19 Q UK Top 50 Albums of 2010 2010 16Sputnikmusic US Top 50 Albums of 2010 2011 47
Track listing
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 Caroline Wickberg – additional vocals on "Black Gold" and "This Orient"
Technical personnel Foals – art direction Big Active – artwork Foals – artwork Tinhead – artwork Ferg Peterkin – engineering, programming Stephen Marcussen – mastering Steve Gullick – photography Dave Ma – photography Luke Smith – producer Mike Crossey – producer, recording assistant on "Blue Blood" Daniel Rejmer – engineering on "Spanish Sahara" Catherine Marks – engineering, mixing on "Spanish Sahara" Alan Moulder – mixing on "Spanish Sahara"
Charts
Weekly charts + Weekly chart performance for Total Life Forever Chart (2010–2011) Peakposition Australian Albums (ARIA)68 Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)21 Japanese Albums (Oricon) 54
Year-end charts + Year-end chart performance for Total Life Forever Chart (2010) Position UK Albums (OCC)194
Certifications
References
External links Total Life Forever Official Website