Foals’ have offered a taste of their incoming 2019 takeover with their first single in four years, ‘Exits’. Having offered no releases since their critically acclaimed What Went Down, Foals left fans waiting for a taste of new music. Their comeback needed to be something special, and they have certainly met my expectations.

Marking the beginning of the era of their fifth studio album, the whimsical lyrics of ‘Exits’, and the equally surreal music video that accompanies it, promises the return of the Foals we know and love. Merging vintage-inspired filmography, settings and costumes with apocalyptic and futuristic scenes, the 6:39 video is an entity in its own. I can only hope this vision is emulated in their forthcoming album.

Their comeback needed to be something special, and they have certainly met my expectations

They have already established themselves as connoisseurs of unconventional lyrics and song titles (‘Milk and Black Spiders’ is probably the prime case study), but ‘Exits’ seems to be marking the beginning of an even more surreal side of the band. The track list of their upcoming album Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 looks like it will follow in kind, with song titles ‘White Onions’, ‘Syrups’ and ‘I’m Done With The World (& It’s Done With Me)’ forecasting a similar vibe.

Speaking to NME, frontman Yannis Philippakis said that ‘Exits’ is intended to ‘paint a visual picture with words about the state of where we’re at’, such as the state of the environment and lack of privacy. Philippakis started ‘fantasising about a way of living underground […] in this warped and surreal landscape.’

This year will see not one, but two albums from the rock band. Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost Part 1 will be released on 8th March while Part 2 is expected to drop in Autumn. Foals will be touring in the UK during June 2019.

‘Exits’ is available now via Transgressive. Tickets to see Foals perform live are available here.