Foals performed their first live show in 18 months last night (August 12) and used the opportunity to debut their new track ‘Novo’.

The funk-driven number arrived midway through the band’s set, and is anchored by a catchy chorus which sees frontman Yannis Philippakis repeatedly chanting “wake me up“.

It’s the first new Foals track to arrive since the release of 2019’s ‘Everything Not Saved Will Be Lost – Part 2’ and comes after Philippakis previously teased how their new material will be the soundtrack to a “brighter future”.

“Thinking about what has occurred over the last period, we’ve been writing new music as a response to that and to transport ourselves out of that reality and into a brighter future – or just to take us out of the moment,” the frontman told NME.

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He added: “We probably would have done that anyway after the last record, but then with the actual reality of the pandemic I couldn’t bare to write anything too depressing. I feel like the next record is going to be full of light. It’ll be the perfect soundtrack for nights out, being together again and wild abandon.”

‘Novo”s official release date has yet to be confirmed.

Last night’s gig also saw Foals opening with the thunderous riffs of ‘Black Bull’, while also performing ‘Blue Blood’ for the first time since 2016.

You can check out last night’s setlist in full below.

1. ‘Black Bull’
2. ‘Mountain At My Gates’
3. ‘Wash Off’
4. ‘The Runner’
5. ‘Olympic Airways’
6. ‘In Degrees’
7. ‘Novo’
8. ‘Balloons’
9. ‘Blue Blood’
10. ‘My Number’
11. ‘Black Gold’
12. ‘Spanish Sahara’
13. ‘Red Socks Pugie’
14. ‘Inhaler’
15. ‘Neptune’
16. ‘What Went Down’ (ENCORE)
17. ‘Two Steps, Twice’ (ENCORE)

Foals will follow last night’s Cardiff show with a headline set at Boardmasters Festival tonight (August 13) and a gig in Swansea tomorrow (August 14), before they then play at All Points East 2021 later this month.

The band will head out on a full UK tour next year.