Foster the People's Supermodel

Most of the songs on Foster the People’s new album, Supermodel, sound like they came from their debut, Torches. But this isn’t a bad thing.

There’s the same layering of different sounds – the electric synths, catchy guitar riffs, and most notably, lead singer Mark Foster’s trademark high-pitched falsetto. And just as the first album did, Supermodel puts all of these elements together to create a string of delightful, radio-friendly songs, most of which could serve as the album’s lead single. It’s also a concept album, which admittedly, I had no idea of before reading the Wikipedia article. Even so, Foster attempts to bring the sound of Torches to a more mature set of lyrics. These lyrics aren’t always audible, and there’s a lot of “Oooohs” and “Na Nas,” but that’s okay, because the songs all sound really good.

Supermodel begins with “Are You What You Want to Be,” which sets the tone for the songs to come. You can’t hear what he’s saying in the verses, but the noise around them is so catchy that this hardly matters. There’s layering of sound that all compliments the song – the acoustic riff, the synths, and the falsetto all come together to create a wonderful pop song.

Foster slows the pace a touch with “Ask Yourself” before arriving at the album’s actual lead single, the third song, “Coming of Age.” It’s a song that also uses the same template to build – starting with a brief, twenty-second introduction of a slowed electric riff, before exploding into a dance song. Foster sings, “my fear pulls me out to sea / and the stars are hidden by my pride and my enemies,” a rather cumbersome lyric. But you wouldn’t know it, because the music is pretty damn happy.

Foster’s falsetto glides through the next two tracks, “Nevermind” and “Pseudologia Fantastica,” before arriving at an interesting bridge track, “The Angelic Welcome of Mr. Jones.” It’s only thirty seconds, and it’s only a simple layering of vocals, but it reminds the listener that the album is, in fact, an album, and not just a collection of could-be radio singles.

It’s also well placed, because after the track comes the finest song on the album, “Best Friend.” Like “Coming of Age,” the song is rather dour in subject, discussing living and dealing with a drug addict. But again, it’s so catchy that you wouldn’t know it. There are a few bars of slower electric guitar riff (sensing a pattern, anyone?) and then the breakdown of the song into that great, familiar falsetto, on top of electric synths, and whistles, and horns.

And this is how the songs on Supermodel go. As much as a lot of them sound alike (as well as those on Torches), they still sound great. Mark Foster knows that he’s doing – he clearly knows the definition of “catchy” through and through, and his talent is undeniable. He covers about three octaves with his voice, and the album’s production is impeccable. There’s only three people in Foster the People, but the lead singer has the talent of five men, and sometimes, that’s all you need in the music business.