The world is always your oyster if you can take something that people have attempted before and put a spin on it that is actually refreshing. As such, once again the cacophony of hype is ringing in the global collective consciousness of writers about another young up-and-coming band who have defeated the dragon of producing a first effort worthy of praise and accolades.

Of course, it’s disenfranchising that the band which I am referring to is having to wait in line behind another set of lads whose sweater-driven uptown saturday night antics prove that if you eat the right Wheaties and use the most politically correct phrasings, you can borrow from the 1986 Album of the Year and people will shower you with yummy presents.

Now that I’ve told that unnamed band what I think of them, let me tell the 5-piece Oxford, UK band Foals (the Band of Baby Horses, yes I did say that) what I think of them: in short, deserving of every last bit of hype. With their first full-length release, Antidotes, they have produced what is potentially the first entirely stellar album of 2008. Indelicately blending math rock and afro-beat with the help of producer Dave Sitek (yes, of TV On The Radio), Antidotes is unflinching in its relentless percussion. The jangling clatter of mathy rhythms, slick horns blended with a healthy, honest, angst-driven vocal delivery give this album, and this band, a uniqueness. The content of the album can become droning and heavy handed at times, as math rock is want to be, but finds itself spirited away by its desire to be more than merely a carbon copy of Minus The Bear. Foals have crafted a nearly perfect freshman album.

But enough jibber jabber from yours truly. Let the music speak for itself.

Listen to Foals – The French Open
Listen to Foals – Balloons

The album Antidotes will be released stateside by Sub Pop records on March 24th. Visit the band’s official homepage for more updates and songs.

Oh, and here are some more foals. Just for comparison.