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Indie rock is undergoing a much-needed regeneration of late. Reedy guitars hold less sway, funk punk is finally packing up its cowbell and the glum cells of black-clad doom-mongers imitating Ian Curtis because they can’t actually sing are headed for the shadowy obscurity to which they so tediously aspired. In their place comes a disco nous, hints of Afrobeat and MGMT psychedelia. LA-based Foster the People are the culmination of that transformation; the Matt Smith of the new indie.
Envisioning themselves as a more populist and accessible Animal Collective, they adapt AC’s art-tronic adventurousness to incorporate the funky danceability of Scissor Sisters, the fuzzy pop catchiness of Kids and the knack of throwing in deceptively downbeat twists akin to Girls, Sleigh Bells or Smith Westerns. Current single Pumped Up Kicks is a prime example, with singer Mark Foster trilling "You’d better run / Faster than my bullet" to a psychedelic block party skipping tune that seems to have dropped off the end of Oracular Spectacular, giving the impression of the cheeriest schoolyard gunman ever.
That’s the darkest corner of Foster’s psyche illuminated by Torches; elsewhere, there’s considerably more levity. Call It What You Want is full-on trance pop complete with disco piano and hip hop squiggles, and Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls) is peak-era Dandy Warhols right down to the clap-along guitars and jubilant disregard for the laws of the land. By the time I Would Do Anything for You rolls around with its sunny, Auto-Tuned ode to blossoming romance you’d be forgiven for deciding FTP are the MGMT who’ll never prog-out on you.
After Houdini sees Torches deliver its own sparking Electric Feel, however, the latter section of the album reveals them as a far more promising and intriguing proposition. Life on the Nickel is a falsetto pop chant swathed in grime clicks and crunches, and Miss You sounds like Chris Martin lost and alone at a pagan rave; both suggest that FTP might soon pioneer a transatlantic fusion of dance and indie aesthetics that threatens to merge and rejuvenate both genres like no act since The Rapture. Time will tell, but this opening salvo will certainly leave you pumped up for further Foster kicks.
--Mark Beaumont
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Every so often, a new band appears seemingly out of nowhere & release a debut album that is so completely lovely that you wonder what you ever did without it. Just such a band are Foster The People & just such an album is Torches. I fell in love with it on first listen & I knew then, that it was going to feature very high in my albums of the year! The lead single Pumped Up Kicks was the song that inspired me to get the album. Its a curious, mellow song underpinned by an insidious beat & has slightly muffled vocals in the verses before bursting into a simple but glorious chorus. It was a real sleeper hit single - hanging around the charts for ages. The whole album is filled with songs that sound so simple & effortless & all the songs have razor sharp hooklines & killer choruses. Helena Beat, Waste, Don't Stop, Call It What You Want....I could go on...& I will, about one song in particular which hit me like some divine hammer the first time I heard it. The song in question is I Would Do Anything For You & its the sweetest, sunshiniest & just most downright adorable song you could hope to hear. Angelic vocals sing achingly sweet words in the verses & kick into a chorus that is so simple & so completely & utterly joyful, you can't help but bounce around the room. My niece, who was 4 years old when she heard it, adores this song & does a cute little dance & sings along to it! Its about the joys of being in love & oh my, the song just perfectly conveys the wonderful feeling of having someone in your life that you love more than anything. I adore that song, I adore this album & I adore this band! Buy it NOW & bring some perfect indie-pop sunshine into your life! :D
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Let's get it out of the way immediately - Torches is immensely contagious, an audacious indie-pop record. It doesn't always click - but when it does, it's impossible to keep one's feet still.
Pumped Up Kicks is this year's ubiquitous indie-pop crossover - even after many listens, it refuses to lose impact. But does the rest of the album stick quite so successfully? The answer is both yes and no - although more of the former. Opener Helena Beat tries unsuccessfully to re-bottle lightning like their breakthrough hit, but doesn't have similar legs.
Call It What You Want and Houdini, on the other hand, suggest that Foster The People have what it takes to stick around much longer - they hint of the clichéd, but are so joyous and effervescent they render resistance futile. It's not all so golden, but there's enough here to delight in and plenty to enjoy.
Pumped Up Kicks is this year's ubiquitous indie-pop crossover - even after many listens, it refuses to lose impact. But does the rest of the album stick quite so successfully? The answer is both yes and no - although more of the former. Opener Helena Beat tries unsuccessfully to re-bottle lightning like their breakthrough hit, but doesn't have similar legs.
Call It What You Want and Houdini, on the other hand, suggest that Foster The People have what it takes to stick around much longer - they hint of the clichéd, but are so joyous and effervescent they render resistance futile. It's not all so golden, but there's enough here to delight in and plenty to enjoy.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
I first encountered Foster the People in the tail-end of a music programme on US television while recovering from jetlag on my first day in San Francisco. The haunting sound of the chorus of 'Waste' made me sit up from my stupor and pay attention. In the coming days snippets of the single 'Pumped Up Kicks' leached from passing car windows and pounded out of Mission district coffee shops. Since that introduction, and then quickly buying Torches, I have really enjoyed more thoroughly exploring it. The album has a decent amount of variety across the tracks and yet there is a continuity of sound, which gives it a 'Foster the People' identity. I would agree that you do hear echoes of bands like Black Kids, Friendly Fires, MGMT and Vampire Weekend, but there is a definite Foster the People sound.
This is a feel good album, with plenty to make you want to move, but pay attention to the lyrics and you realise that bouncing along with you is a happy-go-lucky gunman or a street hustler. Torches is very probably going to be the sound of 2011 for me, its uniformly brilliant and hasn't yet failed to bring a big stupid grin to my face.
This is a feel good album, with plenty to make you want to move, but pay attention to the lyrics and you realise that bouncing along with you is a happy-go-lucky gunman or a street hustler. Torches is very probably going to be the sound of 2011 for me, its uniformly brilliant and hasn't yet failed to bring a big stupid grin to my face.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Awesome
The music industry mostly these days makes me sick as so much awful rubbish is always played on the radio. Read more
Published 21 days ago by MuseMartinLFC77
Catchy querky pop
There's little that I'll be able to add to any of the other reviews on here, suffice to say that I bought this on a whim as I found it on Vinyl for £8 in Fopp and within 2 playings... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Poppanik
Brilliant album
Every track on this album engaged me and made me want to listen to the next. My favourite tracks were 'Pumped up kicks' and 'Don't stop (colour on the walls)', though I feel there... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Sian
Brilliant album
I only got this for Pumped up kicks but i love listening to all the songs,
Foster the people are now one of my favorite bands of all time! Read more
Foster the people are now one of my favorite bands of all time! Read more
Published 2 months ago by LemonApple
great feel good album
Torches is a brilliant album and each track is different from the next but fantastic in its own right. Read more
Published 3 months ago by jammy dodger
What a great new band!
After hearing one of thier tracks "Pumped Up Kicks" after watching Friends with Benefits, I held on watching the credits (while falling asleep) to hear this song for the first... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Katy
Best album of 2011
Best album I bought in 2011. Well worth a listen. Was hooked on this for a month or so after I bought it and months later I still listen to it! Read more
Published 3 months ago by mikeyg
Average Music Strikes Again
Whilst the album is a lot better than some of the stuff out there at the minutes I feel that they are playing a little to safe. Read more
Published 3 months ago by thisiskyles
Hubby was happy!
Bought it for my husband and he is delighted with it so I am happy. Arrived well packaged and well within stated time so nothing to complain about.
Published 4 months ago by Elaine
Simply Superb
I can't get enough of this album. I heard Pumped Up Kicks on the radio first and loved it, then Helena Beat which was followed by Call It What You Want. Read more
Published 4 months ago by Lisa
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