Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
May 25, 2011The way I see Torches, it's not so much music as a vehicle to convey their message, but more so just fun music for the sake of fun music, and well, you have to have lyrics, don't you?
-
Dec 19, 2011Burning 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.
-
Sep 12, 2011While hit single and opener "Helena Beat" suggests that Foster the People has mastered the sunny-but-bitter concoction, "Waste" and "I Would Do Anything for You" provide a sweet balance on the palate.
-
Jun 22, 2011Time will tell, but this opening salvo will certainly leave you pumped up for further Foster kicks.
-
May 26, 2011Regardless, even the harshest of words are unlikely to stop this album from being a success. And that, well, is kind of depressing.
-
Jun 27, 2011While that constant jollity could become irritating, it manages instead to be endearing.
-
Jun 28, 2011The first half of Torches is its collective zenith, and although things pick up towards the end of the album by the strategically placed 'Pumped Up Kicks', you can't shake the feeling that Foster has simply stretched the party vibe over as many songs as he can before the momentum runs out.
-
May 24, 2011On their first CD, Torches, the trio reach for those same plateaus but can't stretch that far, despite closing strong with the rugged neck-snapper "Warrant."
-
May 23, 2011Much 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.
-
MojoNov 22, 2011Scratch beneath the glossy surface of Torches and beneath the gurgles, stutters and hands-aloft choruses lies an album with a disappointing lack of substance. [Aug. 2011, p. 94]
-
Jun 27, 2011Foster 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.
-
Jun 27, 2011There's no escaping it: Foster The People are a great pop band, and Torches pop production accentuates every handclap and harmony for maximum effect.
-
Jun 14, 2011His songs are structured around one big, hummable hook and not much else. The L.A. band has a knack for that, but we can't help wondering if they have anything more sophisticated in store. We'd rather have the next MGMT than the next Maroon 5.
-
Jul 12, 2011Particularly hoisted onto such dense production, the hooks are so big, blunt, and persistent that even my four-year-old niece counts Foster the People as her favorite band. But on Torches that plays as a crutch as well as a strength.
-
Q MagazineAug 8, 2011LA-based trio unveil their schizo-pop blend. [Aug. 2011, p. 119]
-
Jun 14, 2011It's derivative, sure, but the hook-happy results pack more decadent kicks than a night out in John Travolta's Seventies pants.
-
May 24, 2011For 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.
-
Jun 24, 2011For the most part, Torches sounds like a faux-edgy take on the likes of Maroon 5 – not the reconfiguring of soft rock the likes of Gayngs and Destroyer have attempted, but easy-listening, in-one-ear-out-the-other drivetime pop, with synth sounds du jour instead of palm-muted guitars.
-
Jul 6, 2011Along with intense mental states, the band's songwriter, Mark Foster, savors the construction details of his perky pop songs: the clockwork counterpoint of terse, staccato motifs played with carefully selected and individually skewed tones. Behind the neat surfaces, oddities thrive.
-
Under The RadarJun 8, 2011When the same "music is the message" trick is attempted in the newer material, the law of diminishing returns quickly kicks into place. [May 2011, p.78]
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 206 out of 222
-
Mixed: 12 out of 222
-
Negative: 4 out of 222
-
Apr 7, 2012
-
Jun 21, 2011
-
Apr 4, 2015