For a band with such a timid namesake, Foals seems to have a remarkable affinity for making grand statements. Whether it was the chaotic eruptions of drums and guitar that characterized a good chunk of the group’s 2008 debut Antidotes, or the sweeping sonic landscapes that made up its 2010 follow-up, Total Life Forever, Foals has always been an indie band with its eyes set on the mainstream.

Nearly three years later, the Oxford-based quintet is poised to drop its third record, Holy Fire, and for the first time, Foals has unabashedly created an album with a scale and production befitting the group’s grandiose ambitions.
Holy Fire is far from being a perfect album, and while it holds some of the most astonishing moments of the band’s career, it might not even be a great one—more than anything else, lead singer Yannis Philippakis’ repetitive lyrical style comes up a bit short when trying to appeal to a larger audience. That being said, Holy Fire is a confident, at times stunning and always intriguing record that further secures Foals’ place as one of the most consistent indie rock groups, and it may earn them a rightful place within the mainstream landscape as well.

Most of Holy Fire’s first half is fantastic. An instrumental opener, “Prelude,” serves to introduce the bigger, more assured band at work here, and it takes its time building from a solitary guitar tremolo into an all-out sonic assault, with the loudest, roundest rhythm section the band’s ever wielded.

The fourth track, “Bad Habit,” combines the dramatic grandeur of Coldplay and U2 with the taut rhythm tracks and sprightly tenor guitar that has become Foals’ signature.

The most interesting of these, though, is “My Number,” which fervently flourishes a strident syncopated guitar line, four-on-the-floor beat and an utterly addictive chorus, in which Philippakis triumphantly states: “You don’t have my number / And we don’t need each other now.” It’s without a doubt the catchiest song Foals has ever written, but it’s also got more depth than a typical pop jam—listen to the way the guitar interplays with the auxiliary percussion, the slides during the bridge or the occasional sixteenth notes drummer Jack Bevan throws on his hi-hat. A pop song it may be, but it’s one that no one else could create.

This is Holy Fire at its best. Big, bold, stadium-ready indie rock jams that still sound like pure Foals. Four tracks in, you’ll feel as though Foals can do no wrong. It’s as the record progresses that you start to see some chinks in these horses’ armor.

“Out of the Woods,” for example, features an opening verse in which the titular line is spouted four times in a row. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but the problem with this technique here is that it puts additional pressure on the chorus to deliver, which, in this case, doesn’t really happen.

“Milk & Black Spiders,” on the other hand, suffers from this problem’s inverse—the song assuredly builds tension throughout the verses, but is then jolted back by a half-time chorus in which Philippakis states plaintively: “I’ve been around two times and found that you’re the only thing I need.” It’s a nice line, but when you hear it sixteen times in one song, it starts to feel rather tedious.

It is these second-half weaknesses that drain some of the hard-earned momentum Foals spent much of the first half building. There are some impressive moments later on, but as a whole, it’s going to be the opening half of this record you’ll likely wear out first.

With that in mind, it’s important to know going into Holy Fire that you’re in for a rather uneven affair. The band sounds more mature and confident than ever, the production is bold and the songwriting, at times, is utterly fantastic. At the same time, the second half is marred by some lyrical weaknesses that keep the record from consistently matching the high standard set by the group’s previous two efforts. These Foals may have grown up to become stallions, but Holy Fire hasn’t yet earned them the Triple Crown.

Foals will play the Ogden Theater on June 4. General Admission tickets go on sale this Saturday at 10am for $22.00.