Foals, SSE Arena

When Foals arrived on the scene in the late 00’s, they quickly became indie favourites. Aptly categorised as math-rock, the Oxford five piece won plaudits for their intricate guitar lines, pin-point rhythms and precocious lyricism. Now, some eight years after their debut, they’ve grown from a modish cult concern to one of the country’s biggest guitar bands.

Foal’s early recordings were characterised by a sense of claustrophobia. On tracks like ‘Cassius’, and ‘Balloons’ there was no let-up: the sound was taut, stretched almost to breaking point by trilling guitars, and faultless, mechanistic-sounding drum beats. On their more recent records, and particularly 2015’s What Went Down, the group have opened up their songwriting, and done so to great effect. This is recognisably the same band – rhythmic precision remains at the heart of what they do - but the compositions feel far roomier. The result is a more anthemic, grandiose sound; come and hear it for yourself on February 15 at the SSE Arena.