Office Listening: Foster The People 'Torches'

Wtih appearances at Leeds, Reading and Glasto this summer, we're paying homage to the quirky brilliance of Foster The People at the moment. Who didn't like their first album?

One of our crew in the office heard the first minute of 'Pumped Up Kicks' and managed to order the album on Amazon before the song had even finished - it really was that good. That Video-Killed-The-Radio-Star-esque vocal at the beginning, combined with such an innocent bassline; delivering an undoubted winner.

The fact that it's been remixed to ying yang says a lot as well; from the frenzied rap of Kendrick Lamar to the squelchy dubstep of Butch Clancy. Even Cafe Mambo's Pete Gooding has given it the ambient treatment.

But this was by no means a one-hit wonder. It was certainly a prime candidate to be one of those albums you buy on a whim but in reality, you only end up liking one or two tracks and praise the lord for the existence of shuffle; but from the off and all the way through, it's immense.

'Helena Beat' opens things up with great rhythm and delirious vocals, and then you're onto FTP's two biggest hits, the aforementioned 'Pumped Up Kicks' and the again slightly delirious 'Call It What You Want'.

For the most part it's joyous and innocent music, but with a real quirky personality. 'Waste' is very much on the quirk train - you kinda feel that Talking Heads could have made it the same day they made the beautifully silly 'Once In A Lifetime'.

And Talking Heads are a relevant comparison overall, in that they were a band who appeared to be influenced by people who were not bands, making rhythmic and electronic music with machines. The tempos and the priority given to the drums in the overall mix is probably what's pushing our dancefloor-addled buttons in the office.

The wider story about Foster The People is an inspiring one as well, certainly for those who believe in the democracy of a music industry driven by the internet.

Main man Mark Foster uploaded 'Pumped Up Kicks' to his own website in 2010 and it went viral, so viral in fact that he quickly hired a management company who delivered deals on the table from the likes of Atlantic, Warner, and where FTP eventually settled, Columbia.

Foster had been a guitarist on the LA party circuit and also a DJ, before gradually becoming consumed by drug addiction. He had almost given up on the idea of a career in the music biz (he worked as a waiter for a number of years), but then he landed a job writing jingles for adverts which restored his confidence as a musician.

Within only two years he'd broken through with 'Pumped Up Kicks' and recorded this album for our listening pleasure; top man. We can't wait to catch him and his people at Leeds Festival on August 22nd.

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