TORCHES
| Foster The People
TORCHES
Torches is the debut studio album by American band Foster the People, released on May 23, 2011 by Startime International and Columbia Records. In 2010, the group parlayed the popularity of frontman Mark Foster's song "Pumped Up Kicks" into a record deal with Startime International, and wrote the album to back the song's popularity. "Pumped Up Kicks" proved to be a sleeper hit; after receiving significant airplay on modern rockstations, the song crossed-over onto contemporary hit radio and became one of 2011's most popular songs. Four additional singles were released from the album: "Helena Beat", "Call It What You Want", "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)", and "Houdini", which had previously been released as a promotional single in the United Kingdom prior to the album's release.-Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
Show All-
Pitchfork
With a few catchy singles, the demonstratively upbeat L.A. trio's first album dares you to categorize them, assess them, or even engage with them.
-
Rolling Stone
this L.A. trio bridge disco elation and psych-pop escapism to take a “hipster”-identified sound onto the radio.
-
NME
You know the score: artist writes (undeniably brilliant) pop song, makes it catchy as hell, but quirky enough for the ‘cool’ crowd, song subsequently gets some big pimping from every blog/radio station/Hype Machine user on the planet and, seemingly overnight, becomes utterly, irritatingly inescapable.
-
Consequence of Sound
Though Torches is a ready-made summer album, its staying power is questionable. It’s danceable and addictive, easy to play through a couple of times, but lacks multiple standouts for endurance. At times, the pulsing tempo and colorful instrumentation that make Torches so lively become repetitive.
-
BBC
... 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.
-
The Guardian
...it's hard not to surrender to the giddy choruses and Foster's carefree, sometimes muffled voice. Even "Pumped Up Kicks", which alludes to a school shooting, sounds like it was written on a sunny day in June.
-
The Guardian
For the most part, Torches sounds like a faux-edgy take on the likes of Maroon 5 –
-
Sputnik Music
For better or for worse, Torches is a product of the here and now, and who can be mad at Foster the People for seizing it for all its worth" Get it while it lasts, boys.
-
All Music
Burning with a hot track intensity somewhere in between early evening rave-up and late-night club afterglow, Torches is a beacon of melodic dance-pop love.
-
Drowned in Sound
One thing you can’t fault though, is the underlying sense of joy that permeates every nook and cranny of the album… even if it is more cookie-cutter than Foster the People would probably ever want to admit.
-
All Things Go Music
A hot, catchy, and infectious one-trick-pony.
-
Plugged In
Foster the People generated lots of conversation with "Pumped Up Kicks." But apart from that controversy, there's not much here that strays too far outside the typical bounds of alt-rock subject matter. In other words, nice, feel-good songs with clear messages mingle with tracks trapped inside opaque meanings and a decidedly darker outlook on life
-
Entertainment Weekly
...like the best dance parties, there are several opportunities to shake, sweat, and hug your neighbor.
-
Express
This LA trio's sound is more fey than either of the aforementioned, like a mellow MGMT, and while there may not be quite enough variety on Torches to truly bowl you over, Foster The People will charm fans of slightly quirky, utterly infectious, sun-soaked indie-pop.
-
Music OMH
If you are searching for a sunshine-fueled pop album for the summer, then your search is at an end. Foster The People make infectiously good music, don’t stick to a formula and make you yearn to lie on your back in the middle of a field, feeling the hot sun streaming down on your face. We can but dream.
-
Butter Yo Bread
... “Torches” is a great album, well deserving of it’s high praise and “critical acclaim” that trophies many musical releases now a days. The music is friendly, catchy, engaging, and at times emotional and mildly experimental.
-
Yuppee.com
Torches seems to be the perfect debut; it’s accessible to many listeners, making the band an instant success and ensuring great staying power. The fact that the infectiously catchy ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ can still be heard on many radio stations nearly two years on is testament to this.
-
L.A. Times
...much of “Torches” doesn’t aim much higher than being a fizzy soundtrack for windows-down elbow tans. Which is fine, but for all his ease at getting attention, hopefully Foster will want to command it more thoroughly.
-
Clash Music Magazine
There’s a fuzzy warmth to ‘Torches’ that makes you suspect that, when not recording, the band were spending their time larking about at poolside BBQs. And while that constant jollity could become irritating, it manages instead to be endearing. OK, singer Mark Foster’s voice occasionally grates, and ‘Don’t Stop’ sounds a little too much like a bad Passion Pit cast-off. But otherwise, this is a feel-good hit of the summer.
-
The Evil Jam
It curtails between beautifully catchy radio friendly pop, and slightly intriguing production. What it shows most of all is promise and a bright future for Mark Foster and the group. Whilst it does not feature much in the way of heavy emotional tussles, it does adhere respectfully as an individual album crafted for a group of people born with headphones attached to their navel.
-
The Daily Star UK
Full of woozy harmonies, sunny synths and sweet lyrics, this debut album could well be on for the Album Of The Summer crown.
-
News OK
Foster the People still makes “Torches” worthwhile by having exquisite taste in source material. Foster lacks a remarkable voice — his thin tenor ensures that even his most blatant soul borrowings come off as pure pop — but the layers of glitchy synth sounds and guttural noises festooning “Houdini” and so many other tracks on “Torches” ensure that this debut will prove dangerously addictive, even for people who think they know better.
-
Mine Equals Blown
Torches is just the reinvented sound of the alternative scene, and is easily one of the best albums to come out in both the genre and in rock thus far in 2011.
Rate This Album and Leave Your Comments