When unsigned band Foster the People dropped its single "Pumped Up Kicks" two years ago, no one could predict how big or controversial the song would become.
As a rumination on the mental processes of a teenager on his way to class with a loaded gun in his backpack and every intention of using it, "Kicks" and composer/frontman Mark Foster were soundly accused of rationalizing monstrous acts. The reality is that the record proved that an awful lot of people hadn't really listened in the first place. Like, say, Alice Cooper's "Dead Babies," "Kicks" was about far more than what was on its shimmering catchy surface.
Now after the band, which also includes Cubbie Fink and Mark Pontius, have toured the bejesus out of that debut album, Torches ( CBS Records ), and all that controversy has died down, it's back with Supermodel ( CBS Records ), which certainly cannot be called more of the same. The new record is simultaneously what one could expect ( Foster's choirboy-pure voice; articulate, sober, and catchy writing ) and not expect from Foster the People ( a far more organic sound with guitars replacing keyboards, a gargantuan production, and a number of tracks with non-linear structures ). It's noisier, harder, heavier and less accessible then the debut, but it is also a better record.
Foster still loves to create fetching songs that seem fueled on uplift but have all kinds of icky conceits tucked in the lyrics and Supermodel is pretty much him going apeshit with a wide palate of styles. "Coming of Age"—with its phalanx of guitars and a vocal from Foster that sounds downright angelic—is the friendliest song here ( it seems by its sound and chorus to inspire hope but... ). "Best Friend" seems to be about addictions but the loopy danceable backbeat would suggest otherwise. Once Foster gurgles, "Sometimes I feel I only dream in black and white...," the song ( and album ) take on a much darker tone. The wall of guitars that propel "Are You What You Want to Be?" gives way to Foster half-rapping the lyrics but his enunciation is like watching the discharge of a submachine gun in slow motion.
It's a bit jarring to hear these words flip off his tongue since Foster always seemed like such a nice, sweet, relatable young man. When he croons, "Are you ready to drink or are you waiting to drown?," on "A Beginner's Guide to Destroying the Moon" the gig is pretty much up. Foster has said in interviews that the Torches world tour and his subsequent travels have shaped his global view and there is no doubt that a certain cynicism has crept in. The "ugly side of capitalism, consumer ideology, and modern popular culture?" Who is Foster kidding? He and his band are on the largest record label in the world which made its cash from selling Barbra Striesand, Chicago, Neil Diamond, and Michael Jackson records. But, and I have to say this in all seriousness, the man has a point.
None of this implies that Supermodel is a downer that is "good for you." "Cassius Clay's Pearly Whites," "Pseudologia Fantastica," and "Tabloid Super Junkie" take radio ready pop and funk and turn them on there ears, and at best they can be called experimental knock offs or, at worst a bunch of pals goofing around.
Friday night, May 16, in front of a sold-out crowd at The Riviera Theater, Foster the People was certainly NOT about fooling around. Opener St. Lucia ( aka Jean-Philip Grobler ) was the perfect lead in and his heaven bound pop was clearly designed to engage and enthrall. Coupled with a hard backbeat and a stream of lush melodies, "Closer Then This," "All Eyes on You" and "We Got It Wrong" sounded like '80s-era monster pop but rather then seem retro they came off as intoxicating. Cynics in the audience could sniff all they wanted but St. Lucia set the standard for the night at sincere tear stained high drama and mind bending spectacle. ( Obviously, this guy is someone to look into. )
By the time Foster hit the stage, shaking his ass through "Helena Beat," the night was already at a fever pitch. In my review of the Torches show at the same venue two years ago, I bitched about how the audio and lighting seemed designed to beat the audience bloody. This time out, though the show was intended to overwhelm, the technology was in full support of the music. By the same token, though his dancing still seems sweetly clunky, Foster seems much more at home in front of a screaming dancing crowd focused on him. He is still relatable, sweet, sincere and "ordinary," but Foster has made all of that a trump card. Yes, the teenage girls around me were shrieking there unfulfilled love for him and no doubt with every clumsy wiggle of his pink butt he left some seats wet, but the man and his merry band had the house in his pocket.
With all the computerized animation, brain-frying lighting and "THUN-DAH," Foster the People turned the difficult, sincere and at times weird Supermodel into an epic jam while making Torches much more then it seemed at the time of its release. "Are You What You Want to Be?" and "Call It What You Want" were downright confrontational and had a welcome nastiness while "Coming of Age" was positively sanctified. "
Houdini" was over-the-top and all that bama-lama took the song to a new dimension. After all that "music and fire" as Margo Channing would say, the acoustic "Fire Escape" ( which is reminiscent of '70s-era Paul Simon ) and the leisurely "Goats in Trees" came as a refreshing relief. "Pumped Up Kicks" was surprisingly tossed off but the night closed with a huge rip through "Best Friend" which begged the question, "Why aren't Foster the People playing in stadiums rather than old movie palaces?"
