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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.
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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?
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Q MagazineAug 8, 2011LA-based trio unveil their schizo-pop blend. [Aug. 2011, p. 119]
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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.
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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.
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Jun 22, 2011Time will tell, but this opening salvo will certainly leave you pumped up for further Foster kicks.
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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."
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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.
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Jun 27, 2011While that constant jollity could become irritating, it manages instead to be endearing.
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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.
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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.
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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.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
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Positive: 206 out of 222
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Mixed: 12 out of 222
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Negative: 4 out of 222
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Apr 7, 2012
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Jun 21, 2011
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Apr 4, 2015