The Foals are all grown up, which may sound a tad oxymoronic. The Oxford four-piece has released the follow-up to their debut album Antidotes in the guise of the darker, sparser Total Life Forever. Gone are the toe-tapping dancefloor beats and cheerful indie sensibilities of two years ago. Foals have something more serious to say this time around and they are going to say it to us when they descend on our shores come February 2011.

Total Life Forever was recorded in Gothenburg Sweden, with Yannis at the lyrical helm. The record delves into themes of futurology and immortality, among other graver topics. We are quick to pin the darker subject matter to the gloomy Gothenburg weather. “I think some of it is darker, but lyrically, it’s not that much darker, just a bit more hazy and cryptic. I mean Gothenburg was far from tropical; there were no bongos or coconuts.” So recording an album in the Caribbean would produce a more upbeat, Ibiza-esque sound? “Yeah we probably would have written a very different record- an album is a document of the time, after all. We had loads of designs about what kind of records we wanted to make after Antidotes, but it doesn’t work like that; you can never fully control it.”

Critics were quick to praise Yannis’ matured vocals on the album, even to the point of suggesting the singer had taken vocal lessons since Antidotes. “No, nothing like that. I made a concerted effort to spend more time on the vocals this time round, so they were much more entwined with the music in the early stages. We almost started as an instrumental band; I wasn’t even really the singer. But we wrote Total Life Forever in a different way, which meant I didn’t have to compete with all the instruments at once- I was able to sing quietly on my own.”

Foals played to sell-out crowds at Splendour in the Grass earlier in the year, and will be back to play at St Jerome’s Laneway Festival and sideshows early in 2011. We take this as a sign they are fond of travelling down under. “Yeah absolutely, we’re stoked. We had a really good time at Splendour, the Australian crowds were awesome.” So what makes Aussie audiences so different from the Brits? “We’ve played in Britain so many times that I think people are becoming used to us. When we came to Australia, it felt special, like it was packed with hardcore fans who had bee waiting a while for us. You could tell there was a greater appetite. I think they were really appreciative, and they’re bit less restrained than the Brits also.”

Apart from performing, what else will Foals get up to while they’re here? “We’re gonna come early this time so we’re not jetlagged. I want to go to the beach, I haven’t seen sunlight in a while. We might also do some recording actually (laughs), there’s a scoop for you! I want to eat a shish kebab too, I’m excited about that. I tried one in Adelaide last time we were down, but it wasn’t very good. It was 2am – I think my taste buds were still asleep.” On the subject of Australia, we probe about what Aussie tunes they’re currently spinning. “We really like the Temper Trap, but we mainly listen to old records now. Either that or super new promo copies.”

Foals are playing headline shows on Wednesday February 9 at Enmore Theatre, Sydney and

Thursday February 10 at Palace Theatre, Melbourne. Proudly presented by Groupie Magazine. For more details, click here.

By Mariam Wardak