AUDIO JUNKIE: Casting a dim light on summer

‘Supermodel’

Foster The People

Sony Ivory

Singer, keyboardist, guitarist Mark Foster of American indie pop group Foster The People (FTP) writes really depressing lyrics. He’d be a mopey, shoe-gazer if it weren’t for the fact that his band, which includes bassist Cubbie Fink and drummer-percussionist Mark Pontius, really comes up with bright, catchy music.

Case in point: the group’s big hit from three years ago, the infectiously melodic “Pumped Up Kicks,” which is actually a story about a school shooting.

FTP may be influenced by the sunny (not to mention flitzy) Los Angeles weather, considering they mix dreamy pop textures and melodies with edgy lyrical themes in their latest album, “Supermodel.”

With the Latin music spiced sounds and chants of “Are You What You Want To Be,” FTP sows doubt and fear in your head. The appealing tones sugarcoat the doubt that proliferates Foster’s lyrics. “Is this the life you’re waiting for?” he intones in “Ask Yourself.”

Airy synths is still the main driving instrument in Foster The People’s sound and “Coming Of Age” is a fine example of the band’s electro-hipster-rock mix. FTP nicks a bit from other bands too. They ape Radiohead’s quirky, melancholy chord progression and vibe on “Nevermind.”

A mixed record, “Supermodel,” has its trippy parts (“Pseudologia Fantastica”), stark acoustic moments (“Goats In Trees,” “Fire Escape”) and fuzzed out indie rock (“A Beginner’s Guide To Destroying The Moon”).

Recalling what they did with “Pumped Up Kicks,” the band concoct a dance, funk mix in “Best Friend.” Dance and sing to it all you want. It’s about friends bugging out on drugs. Shiny on the outside but dour at the core.

‘All The Little Lights’

Passenger

Sony Ivory

We love acoustic guitar driven folk music, at least the kind that we’ve been exposed to of late: Mumford & Sons, to Jake Bugg, to The Lumineers, Bon Iver etc.

Now comes a British singer-songwriter called Passenger with his album “All The Little Lights.”

Passenger is Michael David Rosenberg, a 29-year-old Folk-rock singer who was originally part of the band with the same name. He elected to keep the band name after the group disbanded.

As to his album, it has its charms; maybe it’s Rosenberg accent. If not, then we’re sure it’s the themes and stories behind the songs. Wordy tunes like “Things That Stop You Dreaming,” and “Staring At The Stars,” are good example of Passenger’s take on living.

Jangling road songs, literal and metaphorical like “Wrong Direction,” and “Keep On Walking,” are de riguer for folkies like Passenger, of course. So are considerable folk-guitar chops, by the way; and Rosenberg has some pretty sounding ones like on the ascending chord motifs of “Lifes For The Living,” and the hushed guitar approach on “Feather On The Clyde.”

Highlights here are the rock ballad “Let Her Go,” which was a big international hit for Rosenberg, and the live cut “I Hate,” which shows some of Rosenberg’s humor.

Uncluttered and real. This is straightforward folk music.

AUDIO JUNKIE: Casting a dim light on summer

Source: Mb.com.ph (April 04, 2014 at 04:15PM)

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