The young American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California just two years ago are made up of, Mark Foster, Mark Pontius and, Cubbie Fink. Foster initially named the band, ‘Foster & the People’, but in time, people starting referring to them as, ‘Foster the People’ and the name stuck.
‘Foster the People’ are a band currently receiving a lot of attention and buzz both state side and in the UK. With highly praised performances at SXSW, the hype only heightened. A couple of catchy tunes and a growing reputation for active live shows, this L.A. trio are already being pigeon holed as upbeat West Coast indie pop, drunk on disco infused tequila. Their debut album, ‘Torches’ is an interesting, if not novel concept with trippy, catchy tunes not unlike ‘Passion Pit’, ‘Phoenix’ and ‘Daft Punk’, where their strength is perhaps their music as opposed to their lyrics. The songs dart and meander stylistically and rely on foraging pop history to complete their sound.
Their song, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ is best known and was recently used by the UK mobile phone company, ‘O2’ for their commercials. ‘Foster The People’s’ falsetto alternately evokes Jamiroquai and Mercury Rev, while keyboards are more akin to 90’s dance pop and share more recent similarities to Brooklynites, MGMT. They succeed in the ability to write a chorus so brazen yet plain that you can hear it once and sing it for a fortnight, a tactic that has already made aforementioned , ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ relatively big hits.
The album kicks off with a drumbeat and darkness that sounds promising, but gets poppy very quickly in, ‘Helena Beat’. The music and beat is addictive, but the lyrics soon have me thinking back to, Jermaine Stewart and ‘You Don’t Have to Take Your Clothes Off’ of the late 80’s. Their most renowned, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ follows and this is an undeniably brilliant pop song. It’s catchy as hell, yet quirky enough for the cool kids to get down to. It’s not too dissimilar to, Daft Punk’s, ‘Around The World’ from their debut album, ‘Homework’. I envisage this song kicking in on DJ sets around the globe and everyone in the place doing whatever they do in clubs.
‘Call It What You Want’ is another fun little track with interesting beats and sounds before, Foster appends his fairly simplistic lyrics. Already I’m thinking this band missed their calling in the late 80’s/early 90’s. With, ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ being by far the standout on, ’Torches’, ‘Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls)’ falls not too far behind for me. It’s a mix of, ‘The Dandy Warhols’, with some, ‘Supergrass’ harmonies thrown in for good measure and vocals a little along the lines of my old favourite, John Power of, ‘Cast’ and ‘The La’s’ fame.
‘Waste’ is very chilled and puts me in mind of Cambridge, Massachusetts based, ‘ Passion Pit’ who had some cracking tunes out a year or so ago on, ‘Manners’, but have since fallen off the face of the earth. ‘I Would Do Anything For You’ sounds a little, ‘Phoenix’ which I do like, but, ‘Foster The People’ grind a two line melody into the ground on this one and never really build upon it - “Ooh la la, I’m falling in love, and it’s better this time, than ever before” is bubble gum pop at its very best/worst.
‘Houdini’ is home to melodies so catchy it has you ready to hit repeat, but unfortunately, Mark Foster’s delivery can oftentimes sound a little, ‘Maroon 5’ which is a bit off putting as far as I’m concerned. I do love the sound though. ‘Life on the Nickel’ begins with keys and xylophone sounds that have an almost, ‘Toploader’, dancing in the moonlight theme before applying those high pitched backing vocals. There’s a repetitive melody that references ‘Alex Party’, and their huge hit, ‘Don’t Give Me Your Life’ in the 90’s. The high pitched vocals continue in, ‘Miss You’ and share some similarities to a current band hot on my playlist, Portugal. The Man. ‘Warrant’ which closes the ten track debut begins with choir like harmonies before descending in to a house like beat with more mushy lyrics.
The hooks are so big, blunt, and persistent, but on this album, that can act as a weakness as much as a strength. That said, the band have enjoyed rapid successes in the form of a major record label deal, a Billboard top 10 debut and a coveted slot at music fest, Lollapalooza. No denial, ‘Foster The People’ are a wonderful pop band, and the production of, ‘Torches’ works well to accentuate each clap and harmony to maximum effect. Truth of the matter, I am not mad about pop and this is one where, like MGMT, I will enjoy a couple of their songs while sitting in a bar or perhaps on a TV commercial, but no more than that. I currently have no real desire to see them live or pick up their music, but which them all the very best in their pop adventure. Rating 5.5/10
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