Album: Supermodel
Genre: Indie Rock
Available through: Freegal (three free downloads a week with your library card)
Highlight Tracks: "Are you what you want to be?", "Best Friend," "Fire Escape"
Listening to the new Foster the People album"Supermodel" reminds me of another band that became megastars off their first pop album, MGMT. Just as the MGMT's "Oracular Spectacular" was defined by the dance hits "Kids," "Electric Feel," and "Time to Pretend," the summer of 2011 belonged to Foster the People's ultra-catchy single "Pumped Up Kicks." The song was so good (who can forget those background whistles) that many people did not realize the song was about a school shooting. Just look at the power of a singalong chorus and infectious hooks: a dance floor of people dancing to horrific themes!
After "Oracular," MGMT released "Congratulations," a psychedelic rock album that highlighted the band's decision to move away from the pop hits that made them megastars. This is all I could think about when listening to Foster the People's "Supermodel." The majority of the album carries a psychedelic pop vibe with distorted guitars, echoing vocals, and throbbing drum tempos. And much of lead singer Mark Foster's lyrics hint at the changes the band experienced since their rise to stardom: "Don’t be afraid of the knife, sometimes you have to cut the limb to survive” and "Well I have been accosted, the jury’s been partial, but I won’t surrender."
As a confessed pop addict, I found the change from the pop masterpiece of "Torches" (available in the library or through Freegal) to the psychedelic jams of "Supermodel" slightly jarring. After a few listen, I think this is a strong album...maybe not as wildly dance-able as its predecessor but a solid rock album worthy of a listen.
1. Are You What You Want to Be? - the opening track starts the album off strong, with a very "Vampire Weekend" vibe with chanting background vocals, high falsetto, and rapid fire beats.
2. Ask Yourself - a straightforward, guitar driven rock song. Not bad, but not memorable after the energetic opening.
3. Coming of Age - the first single off the album, a purposefully repetitive dance number: "Feels like I'm coming of age, coming of age!" Balances the trials of the band's past with a hopeful look towards the future.
4. Nevermind - a psychedelic slow jam with echoing lyrics and pounding drums.
5. Pseudologia Fantastica - another trippy track, full of distorted guitars and distant lyrics. I feel like the lyrics are scolding me for wanted more upbeat pop songs: "Fill the air with what you like, another weekend massacre of opinion, Don't be afraid of the knife, sometimes you have to cut the limb to survive."
6. The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones - thirty seconds of bizarre choir chants. A strange intermission that does nothing to make me miss the dance beats...
7. Best Friend- this song reminds me most of Foster's first album, "Torches." Infectious dance beats, jazzy horns...just like "Pumped Up Kicks" the song is so good the lyrics don't even matter! (This time, it's about drug abuse, not a school shooting).
8. A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon - another pysch jam with churning guitars and background chorus vocals "Ahhhhhh!" I think it was this number that connected my brain to the MGMT comparison.
9. Goats in Trees - yes, another slow trippy jam. Foster spends time examining his psyche: "Yeah, I've been running against the wind, And I can't hear the angels calling." In this case, the "wind" is dance music, and "angels calling" is my dissapointment.
10. The Truth - another standard rock song, another jab at Foster's critics: "Well I have been accosted, The jury's still partial, But I won't surrender."
11. Fire Escape - and right when I was ready for the album to end, comes a great closing song. Singing softly over a stripped down guitar, Foster sings of the abuses he has seen in the city of angels, of homeless kids whose dreams of stardom have left them empty. "Save yourself, save yourself," he sings in a haunting voice. A sad, thoughtful closing track.
For those of unfamiliar with Foster the People, I highly recommend checking out the tracks "Helena Beat," "Pumped Up Kicks," and "Houdini" from their original album. I still consider these three of the best pop singles released in recent memory (and still are on my rotation today). You can find the album "Torches" both on Freegal or at your local library. Just click the links within the paragraphs!
-James
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