Total Life Forever Explained

Total Life Forever
Type:studio
Artist:Foals
Cover:totallifeforever.jpg
Alt:A number of people are swimming under water.
Recorded:September 2009[1]
Studio:Svenska Grammofon
(Gothenburg, Sweden)
Length:50:21
Producer:Luke Smith
Prev Title:Antidotes
Prev Year:2008
Next Title:Holy Fire
Next Year:2013

Total Life Forever is the second studio album by British indie rock band Foals, released on 10 May 2010 through Transgressive Records.[2] Prior to the album's release, the band described it as sounding "like the dream of an eagle dying".[3] It was produced by Luke Smith,[4] and was recorded at Svenska Grammofon Studion in Gothenburg.[5] Upon its release, the album charted in numerous countries worldwide, including number eight in 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.[6] A short three date tour of the United Kingdom took place in April 2009.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9] 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.[10] 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.[11]

The album's title was revealed on 24 February 2010.[12] 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.[13] From 8pm the same day, a remix of the track was made available to download from Foals' official website.[14] The accompanying video was added to Foals' YouTube page on 2 March 2010.[15] A limited number vinyl of "Spanish Sahara" was released on 17 April 2010, to mark the 2010 Record Store Day.[16] 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.[17] [18] These were the band's first live performances of the year.[19]

Following "Spanish Sahara"'s limited release, the album's first official single was announced as "This Orient", released on 3 May 2010.[20] [21] The track reached number 97 on the UK Singles Chart.[22] Second single "Miami" was then released on 4 July 2010.[23] 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,[24] Total Life Forever brought the band several nominations for the 2011 NME awards, including best album, best track ("Spanish Sahara") and best album artwork.[25]

Accolades

PublicationCountryAccoladeYearRank
Beats per MinuteUSThe Top 50 Albums of 2010[26] 201143
ClashUKTop 40 Albums Of 2010[27] 20107
Consequence of SoundUSThe Top 100 Albums of 2010[28] 201046
DIYUKAlbums of the Year[29] 201011
Drowned in SoundUKAlbums of the Year[30] 201033
The Line of Best FitUKAlbums of 2010[31] 201020
MojoUKTop 50 Albums of 2010[32] 201025
musicOMHUKTop 50 Albums of 2010[33] 20108
NMEUKTop 75 Albums of 2010[34] 20106
Greatest Albums of The Decade: The 2010s[35] 201919
QUKTop 50 Albums of 2010[36] 201016
SputnikmusicUSTop 50 Albums of 2010[37] 201147

Personnel

Foals

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (2010–2011)! scope="col"
Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[38] 68
Greek Albums (IFPI Greece)[39] 21
Japanese Albums (Oricon)[40] 54

Year-end charts

Chart (2010)! scope="col"
Position
UK Albums (OCC)[41] 194

External links

Notes and References

  1. Foals Return. 30 September 2009. The Fly. 12 March 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20100423141930/http://www.the-fly.co.uk/words/features/6001/foals-return. 23 April 2010. dead.
  2. Web site: Foals 'announce second album details'. Simpson. Oli. 23 February 2010. Digital Spy. 24 February 2010.
  3. Web site: Foals: 'New album will sound like the dream of an eagle dying' . NME . 20 November 2011 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20100414020338/http://www.nme.com/news/foals/38547 . 14 April 2010 .
  4. Web site: Foals announce new album title and tracklisting. 23 February 2010. NME. 24 February 2010.
  5. Web site: Foals: Total Life Forever. Sclafani. Tony. Prefix Magazine. 12 March 2010.
  6. Web site: Foals give away new album downloads. 5 January 2009. NME. 12 March 2010.
  7. Web site: Foals to preview new album at UK live dates. 19 February 2009. NME. 12 March 2010.
  8. Web site: Foals to warm up for Blur show with intimate London gig. Bychawski. Adam. NME. en-GB. 2016-06-20.
  9. Web site: Blur reveal 'Parklife' inspiration at Hyde Park gig . 2 July 2009. NME. 12 March 2010.
  10. Web site: Foals joined by Friendly Fires star at T In The Park. 11 July 2009. NME. 12 March 2010.
  11. Web site: Foals play new songs at London Transgressive show. 26 August 2009. NME. 12 March 2010.
  12. News: Foals Reveal Second Album Title And Release Date. Gregory. Jason. 24 February 2010. Gigwise.com. 12 March 2010.
  13. Web site: Zane Lowe, 01/03/2010. 1 March 2010. BBC Radio 1. 12 March 2010.
  14. Foals Add Intimate UK Tour Dates. Murray. Robin. 1 March 2010. Clash. 12 March 2010.
  15. Web site: wearefoals's Channel. 2 March 2010. YouTube. 12 March 2010.
  16. Web site: The A-Z of Record Store Day 2010. 12 April 2010. FACT. 19 June 2010. https://web.archive.org/web/20150106160916/http://www.factmag.com/2010/04/12/the-a-z-of-record-store-day-2010/. 6 January 2015. dead.
  17. Foals Confirm Second Album Plans. Murray. Robin. 24 February 2010. Clash. 12 March 2010.
  18. News: Foals Announce May UK And Ireland Tour . Gregory. Jason. 1 March 2010. Gigwise.com. 12 March 2010.
  19. News: Foals confirm second album title and release date. Michaels. Sean. 24 February 2010. The Guardian. 12 March 2010 . London.
  20. Web site: Foals announce new single and UK and Ireland tour – ticket details. 1 March 2010. NME. 12 March 2010.
  21. Web site: Foals Unleash New Video. https://web.archive.org/web/20100619191404/http://www.mtv.co.uk/artists/foals/news/198836-foals-unleash-new-video. dead. 19 June 2010. 11 March 2010. MTV. 12 March 2010.
  22. The Official UK Singles Chart for the week ending 15 May 2010. ChartsPlus. 455. 1. IQ Ware Ltd. Milton Keynes.
  23. Web site: Watch Foals' transgender-featuring 'Miami' video. 25 May 2010. NME. 16 June 2010.
  24. News: Mercury Prize 2010 Nominations Announced . NME. 20 July 2010. 20 July 2010.
  25. News: Foals and Arcade Fire lead NME awards nominations . BBC Newsbeat . BBC . 25 January 2011 . 25 January 2011.
  26. Web site: The Top 50 Albums of 2010. Beats per Minute. 6 January 2011. 29 May 2020.
  27. Web site: Clash's Top 40 Albums Of 2010. 6 December 2012. 29 May 2020.
  28. Web site: CoS Year-End Report: The Top 100 Albums of 2010. Consequence of Sound. 17 December 2010. 29 May 2020.
  29. Web site: DIY Albums of the Year: 20–11. DIY. 9 December 2010. 29 May 2020.
  30. Web site: Adams . Sean . Drowned in Sound's albums of the year 2010: 50-11 / In Depth // Drowned In Sound . Drownedinsound.com . 2 December 2010 . 12 March 2012 . 3 April 2012 . https://web.archive.org/web/20120403171717/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/4141664 . dead .
  31. Web site: Albums of 2010. 17 December 2010. The Line of Best Fit. 29 May 2020.
  32. Web site: Pubblicato da cabal . Spotirama: Mojo's Best 50 Albums of 2010 . Spotirama.blogspot.com . 13 December 2010 . 12 March 2012.
  33. Web site: musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2010: The Complete List. musicOMH. 3 August 2010. 29 May 2020.
  34. Web site: NME Top 75 Albums Of 2010 . Stereogum . 30 November 2010 . 12 March 2012.
  35. Web site: The Best Albums of The Decade: The 2010s. NME. 29 November 2019. 29 May 2020.
  36. Web site: Q's 50 Best Albums Of 2009 . Stereogum . 25 November 2009 . 12 March 2012.
  37. Web site: Spencer. Trey. Top 50 Albums of 2010. Sputnikmusic. 2 January 2011. 29 May 2020.
  38. The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 21 February 2011. https://webarchive.nla.gov.au/awa/20110222221234/http://pandora.nla.gov.au/pan/23790/20110221-0001/Issue1095.pdf. dead. 2011-02-22. The ARIA Report. Australian Recording Industry Association. Pandora Archive. 1095. 6. 21 February 2011. 1 March 2021.
  39. Web site: Greek album positions . greekcharts.com . 16 June 2010 . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20110724035750/http://greekcharts.com/showitem.asp?interpret=Foals&titel=Total%2BLife%2BForever&cat=a . 24 July 2011 .
  40. Web site: https://www.oricon.co.jp/prof/448240/products/868387/1/. ja:トータル・ライフ・フォーエヴァー - フォールズ . ja. Oricon. 7 July 2022.
  41. Web site: End of Year 2010. UKChartsPlus. 22 March 2021.

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