Foster the People: Paradise State of Mind Review

Foster the People has had a rough run since their debut. Their unique blend of loops, synths, and Beegees vocal stylings didn't easily fit into pop, rock, or dance music perfectly, which was what made it so fresh. The problem, trying to either a) refine it or b) top it led to a classic sophomore slump and a disappointing course correction on their third album (even though it did have my favorite song of theirs ever). Then.....7 years went by. We've seen that kind of gap, or close to it, from other high profile bands in the past (when oh WHEN will we get more Tame Impala). But the difference between "dead band" and "it will be worth the wait" is contingent on whether your last two albums sounded like Supermodel and Sacred Hearts Club or more like Currents and The Slow Rush. 

For this fourth album, Foster The People might as well rename themselves. It's not that I can't hear their old sound within the chords and the vocals (there's no mistaking Mark Foster), it's that I'd be more likely to have assumed Mark Foster formed a new band. It's quite surprising to learn that this head-in-the-clouds album comes from the band that watched in terror as their song about school shootings was treated as a bop at the club. But here we are: Foster the People are reborn--and they're trying to crawl even before the cord has been cut. It's impressive as much as it is foolish, and no song on the album can quite express that range as much as Feed Me.

I don't know that I've ever had such a turnaround in opinion on a song quite like Feed Me. Initially, I hated the polar opposite of a catchy hook, the stilted 80's "technology is the future" pastiche, and the almost Bob's Burgers presentation. But if they're in on the joke, it switches from bad instincts to satiric instinct. There are countless bands that have taken what was made before, coyly mocked it, and found admiration in doing so. It's like Hot Fuzz being an actually good buddy cop movie despite shamelessly insulting the genre. All I'm saying is give it a chance to humor you. It's in these moments that I think maybe the group is gleeful instead of overserious, but more on that later.

It's not like the old hook-friendly songwriting is gone from this effort. See You in the Afterlife is a near-frenetic tune with a hook that sounds so Foster the People. Similarly, the energy and momentum in the chorus of Lost In Space has the group outdoing Parcels at their own game (not that Parcels makes that hard with their overrepetetive tracks). And Take Me Back puts such a great groove on you might toss your Begees albums. Not every song aims to be singles, and that's to be expected from a group four albums deep no longer inept to the concept of pacing.

That doesn't mean they nailed pacing. With fewer of these quite questionable production choices, there would be a lot more momentum from song to song. Not all of them, I don't want to be over-harsh, just enough of them that it needs discussion. Ever since OKGO overdid the vodocoding on Before the Earth was Round the specific use of vodocoding seen on Let Go is always going to be goofy. To that point, there's a lot of vocal flairs borrowed from other artists, from MGMT to Eurythmics; I'd rather just hear Mark Foster be himself. Glitchzig peters out with a weird trumpet section that lasts far too long (and that's on top of it already sounding too close to Feed Me). Peppered everywhere is a very Tom Cardy application of synths and choppy chordy guitar; it's clear they both have respect for a lot of the same artists, but only one is fine with leaning wholeheartedly into the goofiness (and Lost In Space sounds too close to a Cardy song). Every time this happens, the air deflates from the balloon.

When the production is working, however, it's quite enjoyable. This is not a group that has shied away from applying heavy production in the past, adding layer over layer of samples, vocals, traditional instruments, anchored by that nasaly snarling voice from Mark Foster. When the spacious falsettos float over mildly warbling hazy guitars, you hear just how natural the Foster the People sound slots into this 70s pastiche. Largely, this means the slower the song, the better it fares.

There's something about the mix of Foster's voice, the mix, and the production that makes picking out lyrics a little more of a chore than others working in the same space today. For this record, I prefer it. Silk Sonic's debut had punchy, amusing lyrics. Since most of this album has metaphysical, celestial, soul-gazing lyrics, I'm fairly fine with just nodding to the groove and tuning out whatever spirit animal they might be on about. I don't mean to sound reductive of any beliefs they or anyone else may have; it's just that this doesn't seem to have much of a grip on this--or any--reality. They end up sounding high on their own farts, or as I like to call it, the Empire of the Sun effect. There's gotta be a way to talk about connecting with the universe that doesn't end up making you sound overproud.

Had Foster the People taken this safer route, the album would have served as their baby step into the space and given them the necessary experience to reach for those more experimental tracks successfully. It's not like a safe album is a bad one, after all. Especially when going for 70s vibes, simplicity is rewarded. Look at how great Broken Bells did with Into the Blue by keeping it reeeeeeal simple.

They're not as surreal, deep, or flexible as they think they are. It's frustrating to have the album ambling along aimlessly instead of the momentum from safer songs they could have presented. Sometimes that's the price you pay for swinging for the fences. I still don't know if they were being knowingly campy half the time, and my gut says that's not for me to get twisted up about. I don't have to enjoy Tommy Wisseau media the way he intended me to, and I can apply that same philosophy here.

7.2/10