I am going to start off by saying that this week’s post is not featuring a band or group that people have never heard of. In fact, I think most people who read this blog will have heard of this group before. The band I am featuring this week had one of the biggest hits of 2011, but I feel like their other work is extremely underrated. This week, I introduce Foster the People.
I’ll be the first to admit that I couldn’t name another Foster the People song besides “Pumped Up Kicks” until very recently. (Okay, perhaps I knew “Don’t Stop (Color on the Walls) but I would not have been able to tell you the name.) But a few weeks ago, I was listening to Imagine Dragons Pandora Radio (aka the best station ever) and a track from “Torches” came on. It was pretty catchy so I naturally went straight to YouTube and discovered all the wonderful things I have been missing for two years.
Torches may be one of the best albums I’ve found in the past two years. It had never occurred to me to dig deeper into Foster the People but clearly, that was my mistake.
Foster the People was formed in Los Angeles in 2009 by Mark Foster. Foster moved to California to pursue a music career at the suggestion of his father. Foster struggled with his songwriting because he could not narrow his music into one genre. Eventually, after struggling with drugs and much frustration, Foster founded a group with Mark Pontius and Cubbie Fink. The original name of the group was “Foster and the People” but the name was frequently misheard so the group eventually changed it.
In 2010, Foster the People released their soon-to-be-famous single “Pumped Up Kicks” and it was available for free online. Over the next year, this song made Foster the People famous and helped them obtain a record deal.
Since then, Foster the People released “Torches” in 2011, has had music featured in many television shows, and has toured extensively.
This album is so diverse. I can listen to it for hours on end and never get bored. “Torches” is the perfect combination of upbeat, slow, happy and sad. I recommend everyone give this album a listen.
Foster the People YouTube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/fosterthepeopleVEVO
Website: http://www.fosterthepeople.com/us/home
“Houdini:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GMQLjzVGfw&list=UU-lkm1huv9jCUH28E7cKmew&index=10
“Call It What You Want:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1prhCWO_518
“Waste:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nq-PlAC5XlA
“Miss You:” http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g9M4cWrvPR4