Living in SoCal with a laid-back mentality and mixing it with Brooklyn-style alternative sounds like a good concoction. And that’s what Foster the People aims for.
Torches, the band’s debut album, doesn’t shy away for electronic beats and groovy melodies. It welcomes them like a warm blanket.
Foster the People get off on the right foot with album opener, “Helena Beat,” which features some nice, catchy beats and feels smooth.
And of course, lead single “Pumped Up Kicks,” despite its grim tone and lyrics, is easily one of the most infectious songs of the year.
The band comes at the right time. Bands like MGMT and Passion Pit have dominated the alternative scene, and the college scene, the past few years. Certainly there’s room for more, right?
Well, yes and no. There’s certainly enough hooks here to go around. But there are still many faults. There’s too much going on. Some of the album doesn’t feel entirely cohesive. The band seemed to try and incorporate too many influences on one record.
And then there’s the fact that a lot of this sounds like you’ve heard it before. “Pumped Up Kicks” sounds like a rip-off of Peter Bjorn and John’s “Young Folks.” “Call it What You Want” brings to mind MGMT’s “Electric Feel.” And “Life on a Nickel” at times sounds like a substitute for Passion Pit’s “The Reeling.” Yes, some songs are bound to sound like others. But on Torches, it seems to be a recurring theme.
This album could be THE summer record for fans of the aforementioned bands. And there are certainly no shortage of catchy hooks on this album. But ultimately it can’t save it from its lack of originality. There’s promise here, but for now, Foster the People is just a poor man’s Passion Pit.
4 Golden Eggs
Top Tracks: “Helena Beat,” “Waste”
they play foster the people relentlessly on our local vancouver modern rock station..one day the deejay was talking about how mark foster (?) sat in his basement and wanted to write a “hit”song….well first thing I thought was all he did was rip off everything else thats been done. and the peter bjorn and john jumped out at me right away too. don’t know just can’t get on the fanwagon……but more power to em …I guess?