The lead single from Foals' third LP, Holy Fire, is a track about claustrophobia that was described in a statement as "heavier than anything Foals have written before." The album was helmed by production duo Flood & Moulder (PJ Harvey, Smashing Pumpkins, The Killers) at Assault and Battery studios in London.
Vocalist Yannis Philippakis explained the song's meaning to NME: "It's about feeling under attack. I tapped into that feeling of rush-hour claustrophobia, wanting to scream everybody away and gain space for myself. On a more personal level it's about wanting to push away at people and at everything."
The song was inspired by the guilt Yannis feels about the damage caused by smoking to the lungs that his ancestors have given him. He explained to Q magazine that he can't shake off the feeling that his potency as a young man has been wasted. "You get given these organs," he said, "and I've just been desecrating everything since the age of 12."
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