Foster the People Have Aged Nicely

I'm going to go out on a very short limb here and say that Foster The People's "Coming of Age" single has the goods to be the band's latest worldwide smash. This trio has lost none of the punch that's been associated with its prior hit "Pumped Up Kicks". You'll have "Coming of Age's" chorus bouncing around the walls of your brain for days to come. Please let it have its way with you. The sensation is a good thing. Mark Foster confidently takes the mike and we're touched by the sensitive guy card he's punching in. As we've been told time and again never looking back is the key to keeping one's sanity. Rabid dogs everywhere rejoice. Your pop culture moment has arrived. In this case Mr. Foster is incorporating the canine in comparison to a wounded lover with those familiar crying eyes, possibly bloodshot from the anguish. Nobody takes a down off as they say in the gridiron universe. Mark Pontius is on fire on the drums. He pours every drop of sweat into making this song the most captivating it can be. It's truly the instrument equivalent to a well-choreographed riveting jackhammer. Only here you're not likely to walk away from the experience with a splitting migraine. Meanwhile on bass, Cubbie Fink slips a contemporary nightlife mentality over this passion play. We begin with Mark dropping in a keyboard audio tease that makes you think the heavenly angels are hovering over the three as they work their magic. Don't blink because the green light is quickly enforced. The idea of using a time lapse video to accompany the song was a mild stroke of genius because the uncontrollable energy of Foster The People is most easily appreciated if there are moving pictures moving at this fast a clip to set the scene. Rather than rely on one instrument to take the lead, to put "Coming of Age" over the top in the pick hit department, the entire smorgasboard is dropped into the stew pot. As we round the turn and head for home Mark shifts focus from synths to piano. Sincerely put, they already had my attention with this quilt of beautiful cacophony. As any music merchandiser worth his salt will tell you, the key to selling a song is mining it for the hook, that part of the song which makes the earwig possible, that musical star quality that stays embedded in your head, lodged in your bloodstream long after the song itself has reached a conclusion. "Coming of Age" comes armed for bear. That's ironic given Mark sings about being bored with lover's games, with the fight of lovers involvements in general. No matter though, "Coming of Age" is going only one direction...right to the top of the charts of any nation that keeps up with musical popularity. I doubt it will take as much time for the song to catch on as it did "Pumped Up Kicks". My fingers are crossed anyway. If other songs on "Supermodel", presently slated for a March release are even half as good as "Coming of Age" the band is going to be a top draw on tour, sweet music to record retailers, and not short on the moolah needed to finance other links on their creative chain. Their brand of firepower is welcomed during a point in history where the strength to continue is in short supply for a dishearteningly large number of people across the globe. There's no weakness to be found in the song...unless of course rich melodies and a tempo to sink your teeth into are pet peeves.