"Black Bull" is the lead single by English

indie rock Indie rock is a Music subgenre, subgenre of rock music that originated in the United States, United Kingdom and New Zealand from the 1970s to the 1980s. Originally used to describe independent record labels, the term became associated with the mu ...

band,

Foals A foal is an equine up to one year old; this term is used mainly for horses, but can be used for donkeys. More specific terms are colt for a male foal and filly for a female foal, and are used until the horse is three or four. When the foal is ...

, off their sixth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings issued on compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl, audio tape, or another medium such as Digital distribution#Music, digital distribution. Albums of recorded sound were developed in the early ...

, ''

Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2 ''Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2'' is the sixth studio album by British rock band Foals. It was released on 18 October 2019 through Warner and Transgressive Records. The album is considered the second half of a two-part project, ...

''. The single and music video were released on 1 August 2019, with the track peaking at number 9 on the

UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart The UK Rock & Metal Singles Chart and UK Rock & Metal Albums Chart are record charts compiled in the United Kingdom by the Official Charts Company (OCC) to determine the 40 most popular singles and albums in the rock and heavy metal genres. The ...

after initially debuting at number 12.

Style

Most contemporary music critics and journalists described the song being a heavier, rock-oriented song. The ''New Musical Express'' called "Black Bull" a "gnarly fucker that flexes their rock muscles – but this time it’s to bursting point. With razor-sharp riffs and a paranoid menace throughout, it’s a full-on onslaught so relentless that it feels constantly under threat of collapse". Laura English, writing for ''

Music Feeds ''Music Feeds'' is a free bi-weekly digital music and lifestyle magazine (street press) established in 2008 and based in Sydney, Australia. It is distributed electronically every second Tuesday, with additional material posted on the website r ...

'' called "Black Bull" "a crashing belter of a song that fully showcases the band’s rock muscles". '' DIY'' called "Black Bull" an "absolutely fucking huge track" saying that "the opening guitar licks of ‘Black Bull’ build up into a thrashing rock number that sees frontman Yannis Philippakis undoubtedly straining a few vocal cords as he screams the lyrics over the tumultuous soundtrack. Tackling conflicted masculinity and delusions of grandeur, it’s biting and brilliant, the perfect introduction for ‘Part 2’." In an interview with ''NME'', frontman

Yannis Philippakis Yannis Philippakis (Greek: Ιωάννης "Γιάννης" Φιλιππάκης) (born 23 April 1986) is the lead singer and guitarist of the British indie rock band Foals. Early life Born to a Greek father and a South African Jewish mother, ...

described "Black Bull" as well as ''

'' as "a heavier listen, the guitars are more emphasized and there’s some big riffs on it. It’s a rock record and it definitely carries on the narrative from part one". Reflecting this heavier sound, "Black Bull" would become the first Foals single to break into the

Critical reception

Andrew Trendall, writing for the ''

New Musical Express ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' praised the track, giving it 5 stars out of five, calling "Black Bull" "by far, the most violent, urgent thing they have ever recorded." Trendall further said, "if lead single ‘Black Bull’ is anything to by, ‘Part 2’ is very much going to be Jekyll to the Hyde of ‘Part 1’. If ‘Part 1’ was Foals hanging up a chandelier, then ‘Black Bull’ sends it crashing to the ground. After ‘Part 1’ ended with apocalyptic scenes of fire and scorched earth, this is the survivors looking over the wasteland and shouting, “Fuck this”.

Music video

Released 1 August 2019, the music video directed by Niall O'Brien, features clips of the band performing within a dimly-lit room intercut with dramatic,

slow-motion Slow motion (commonly abbreviated as slo-mo or slow-mo) is an effect in film-making whereby time appears to be slowed down. It was invented by the Austrian priest August Musger in the early 20th century. This can be accomplished through the use o ...

footage of a live bull thrashing about within an empty void before charging through and destroying a "

Día de muertos The Day of the Dead ( es, Día de Muertos or ''Día de los Muertos'') is a holiday traditionally celebrated on November 1 and 2, though other days, such as October 31 or November 6, may be included depending on the locality. It is widely obser ...

" display (a giant wall of Mexican marigolds and shrine to

Our Lady of Guadalupe Our Lady of Guadalupe ( es, Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe), also known as the Virgin of Guadalupe ( es, Virgen de Guadalupe), is a Catholic title of Mary, mother of Jesus associated with a series of five Marian apparitions, which are believed t ...

) during the video's climax .

Track listing

Charts

References

External links

* {{authority control 2019 singles 2019 songs Foals songs Transgressive Records singles Warner Records singles Songs written by Yannis Philippakis Environmental songs