Release Date: May 23, 2011
Foster the People’s debut album is a disappointing walk through an indie pop world where the main theme throughout is more background noise than excellently prepared synth tunes. Compared to a more definable and cause-worthy sound from the likes of MGMT or LCD Soundsystem, Foster’s Torches lacks real girth and toys more with the idea of a dreamy and whimsical sound. Having dropped a rather popular self-titled EP last year, the follow-up should have been more impressive.
Lead vocalist Mark Foster does manage quick-witted and poignant lyrics. Backed with a wide variety of drums and synthesized sounds, though, it blends easily into the backdrop and as the album progresses, carries little weight. Tracks suck with “Pumped Up Kicks” and “Helena Beat,” having the only real stopping power on the entire collection. With a mixture of moving beats and a peppy tempo, they take off and never really return. This yields the only real success on the album.
“Color On the Walls (Don’t Stop)” and “Call It What You Want” are kitschy. “Don’t Stop” has some hand claps and bouncy beats but sounds more like it should be a jingle for a car commercial more than a show-stopping tune. “Waste” echoes a watered down Matt and Kim track with slight piano hooks and “oohs and ahhs” reverberating through the chorus. There is a moment during the bridge where the song starts to build, but a boy’s choir chiming in at the last minute shoots this down.
The album would make a great soundtrack for tanning alone on a rooftop deck. Foster’s vocals are easygoing and lackadaisical.
This point is prominent in the track “I Would Do Anything For You,” where he’s backed with “ooh la las” while going on about falling in love. The flip side to that coin is a punchy track called “Houdini.” Though the “oohs and aahs” are back in this song, the beat coupled with some excellent synth hooks makes this one of only a few standouts on the record. The toppling piano and spacey sound throughout the background help the tune along and give it some staying power.
Being a band from L.A., one would think there would be some definite stage presence detected in each of Foster’s tracks. Ultimately, the debut album is diluted. Though there are a handful of interesting songs on the album and the band did break into the Billboard’s Alternative Songs Chart at number four, they continue to hang back with the uninteresting. The group’s played South By Southwest in Austin, Texas and has a significant following, but in the grand scheme of things there is much still left to be said and done by Foster the People.
With room opening up in the indie pop world and this being their first real crack at filling it, Foster has plenty of room to grow. As the old saying goes: “You have to crawl before you can walk.” Foster the People are in the couch-cruising stage, where the youngster is on the brink of walking on his own but has to hold on to something solid. Hold on to your fans, Foster, and keep on trucking.
Foster the People – Torches Tracklist:
- “Helena Beat”
- “Pumped Up Kicks”
- “Call It What You Want”
- “Don’t Stop (Color On The Walls)”
- “Waste”
- “I Would Do Anything For You”
- “Houdini”
- “Life On The Nickel”
- “Miss You”
- “Warrant”
