Foals – “Bad Habit” (NSFW)

Foals last worked with director Nabil Elderkin on the seriously NSFW “Late Night” video. The band and director are paired up again for the “Bad Habit” clip, which is about as objectionable as the sleeve art for Rush’s Hemispheres. But a tasteful nude is still a nude, so be warned. “Bad Habit” is far and away my favorite track on Foals’ recent album, Holy Fire. It’s a rich, beautiful electro ballad with soaring climaxes and thousands of perfectly arranged near-microscopic details. It’s a song that I usually play three or four times in a row every time I listen to it, because its chorus gives me such an endorphin charge. Nabil (whose video portfolio includes Kanye West, Justin Timberlake, and Bon Iver, among others) gives the vid a vast, painterly feel, which is absolutely warranted by the music.