Five years after the upbeat but sinister undertones of Pumped Up Kicks took the world by storm along with the resulting album Torches, and three years after their sophomore effort Supermodel, Foster the People have gone in a seemingly different direction for their third album Sacred Hearts Club.
The Californian band, who have shrunk to a quartet after the departure of bassist Jacob ‘Cubbie’ Fink, offered fans a glimpse of their new sound when they released their EP III in April, with the three tracks Pay The Man, Do It For the Money (co-written by OneRepublic’s Ryan Tedder) and SHC appearing on the album.
Lead single Loyal Like Sid and Nancy is an out and out banger, and the 58 seconds of Time to Get Closer sounds like The Beach Boys meets MGMT – sounding like a cut from the latter’s second album Congratulations.
Alas, despite the impressive production on the album and the risk the band took, it just doesn’t feel right that they have seemingly abandoned their indie rock/pop inclinations to jump on the electronic music train, mixed with a bit of neo-psychedelia in between.
Is this new sound here to stay for them? Only time will tell.
