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It can be difficult to create dance-rock with soul. The repetitive beats, clean lines and thin guitars often suck the interesting parts from the music; but with TV On The Radio’s David Sitek producing, Antibalas’ horn section and a sack of weed, Foals have crafted a very intriguing debut. While it thumps with the pulse of disco, relies on an angular attack and utilizes frantic, jittery vocals, Antidotes is beefed up with psychedelic echoes, washes of processed keyboards and compounding horn percussion. Although the structures are based on precise patterns, the Oxford quintet avoids predictability by tossing in the white noise meets African highlife of “Big Big Love (Fig. 2),” the dubbed out intro to “The French Open” and the buzzing keys, thick bass and tension-fueled outro of “Heavy Water.” Foals are making razor-sharp, tight, technically proficient party-rock, but where they genuinely succeed is by diving into more challenging waters, allowing long instrumental sections, sounds from different cultures, and a spirit of adventure to keep them from ever being too clean.

Standout Tracks: “Big Big Love (Fig. 2),” “Heavy Water” AARON KAYCE