Foster the People have come a long way since their 2010 hit single ‘Pumped Up Kicks’ broke the charts, making it easy to look back on the band’s previous records with a sense of nostalgia. Torches was a decent indie pop debut that allowed the group to find a temporary style for the time being. By their third album, they had transitioned into a catchy electropop sound, which would result in a chunk of their old fanbase no longer supporting their music. Seven years later, the band returns with their fourth record, Paradise State of Mind.
Despite Paradise State of Mind being Foster the People’s first major attempt at a synthpop album, it is hardly a step forward in sound, with most of its tracks taking extreme inspiration from the 70s and 80s disco scenes to the point of replication. It is difficult to look upon this change in style without feeling as though the band are slightly selling out. Mark Foster has a clear talent for coming up with some of the most infectious, commercially successful melodies, but many of these songs feel like they are missing something. Although there is some minor evidence of experimentalism underneath these psychedelic tracks, there is a clear lack of depth and originality throughout the LP. This sound, which has been done over and over by now, just feels completely stale and unfortunately overshadows the lyrical content that this record has to offer. There are definitely some notable moments on here, but the lacklustre moments are impossible to ignore. It is pretty astonishing to hear how the quality differs so extremely in only one album.
The album’s strongest aspect is undoubtedly its production. Although there is a strong reliance on imitating prior sounds, this LP sounds simply amazing. The fun disco opener, ‘See You in the Afterlife’ is one of the strongest moments the record has to offer. The grooves are powerful, the melodies are earwormy, and the lyrics are delivered with some great energy. ‘Feed Me’ is a good little track that pulls instrumental inspiration from the likes of Prince pretty heavily. On the other hand, ‘Glitchzig’ is awful due to it being way too bloated, trying to fit in as much as it can in only five minutes. ‘Chasing Low Vibrations’ is a nice, chill number that keeps the production to a minimum. What this band ultimately needs more than anything is a sense of boundary-pushing imagination.
Foster the People are still a relevant band in 2024; however they need to cling onto something unique if they want to survive the rest of the decade. This was the final record with Sean Cimino, the group’s guitarist, which leaves a sense of uncertainty as to where they will go from here. Paradise State of Mind was certainly an interesting stab at synthpop but hopefully the band will be forced to jump into a more radical sound with more substance by the time of their next LP release.
Foster the People: Paradise State of Mind – Out 16th August 2024 (Atlantic Records)
The People – See You In The Afterlife [Official Audio] (youtube.com)
