Foster the People Supermodel (Columbia) ****
Success often kills a band’s common touch. Previously down-to-earth performers suddenly write boastful songs about celebrity romances while putting supercars on their album covers, just to rub it in. The sales may remain relatively buoyant, but the relationship with the fan base never fully recovers.
Keen followers of Foster the People might have feared a similar lurch towards la-la land when the title of their second album was announced, but Mark Foster's Los Angeles-based collective have swung in the other direction. Much of their hugely accessible debut, 2011's Torches, was lucratively licensed out for advertisements and video games, the breakthrough single Pumped Up Kicks in particular; and yet this follow-up is a concept album about the evils of capitalism. Or, at least, that was the plan. The result is actually more personal than political.
The band have successfully avoided another post-success pitfall, however. Rather than over-produce and over-polish – always a danger with a bigger budget – the band recorded much of this album on the road, notably in North Africa, which clearly made an impact. The ebullient opener Are You What You Want to Be? (a self-help theme recurs regularly across these 11 varied tracks) favours West African rhythms, in truth, but the later Goats in Trees takes metaphorical inspiration from Morocco’s curious beasts; their sampled cries set the song’s melancholic tone.
That sparse, acoustic tale of “falling apart” is reminiscent of another Africa-influenced artist, Damon Albarn, and there are hefty hints of Blur’s oeuvre elsewhere: Supermodel is awash with jaunty, quirky, idea-heavy anthems, which often mask a darker lyrical edge. The most anthemic pop song here, Best Friend, resounds with heady horns and harmonies, but beneath the joyous parping lurks a lament about messed-up pals. Ask Yourself is another upbeat workout, which suddenly reveals that “you’re coughing blood again”. These are going to be awkward festival singalongs.
Exotic rhythms aside, the major musical diversion from the dance-friendly Torches is an influx of guitars, and there are heavier moments. A Beginner’s Guide to Destroying the Moon suggests Smashing Pumpkins and does dabble with anti-establishment rhetoric, a lofty proclamation that “the blood of the forgotten wasn’t spilt without a purpose”. Foster the preacher?
Many bands struggle for ideas on the “difficult” second album, having used them all up on the debut, but if anything Foster the People boast too many here. Consistently surprising, Supermodel may be too dramatic a departure for some. Let’s hope it finds a friendly audience.