Album of the Week: Foster the People – Sacred Hearts Club

Listening to mainstream pop music is much like ordering from a fast food restaurant: Everything is the same and there are no innovative surprises. Pop music always has a catchy chorus and a processed beat, while fast food has no thrills and fills your stomach with regret after you eat a high-calorie monstrosity. Los Angeles act Foster the People offer a refreshing antidote to pop’s saturation with their third album Sacred Hearts Club released Jul 21 by Columbia Records. There’s an abundance of substance in each track that gives the listener a jolt of excitement that the band’s contemporaries lack.

There’s a lot of funk within Foster the People’s latest release. Mark Foster and Ison Innis once again show their songwriting expertise while incorporating electronic elements. Each song the band writes tries to make people dance and achieves that from start to finish. Psychedelic æsthetics are present and the musical structure exudes rhythmic brilliance. Sacred Hearts Club is a testament to artistic consistency.

Great music has the power to contagiously induce positive emotions: Listening to a favorite artist or band can uplift the roughest of days. What makes that possible? Harmonies and lyrics definitely play a part; a groovy guitar riff and a fun drum beat also have something to do with that. Let’s provide a further examination with my top tracks off of the Album of the Week:

“Lotus Eater” is a hot jam that has guitars shining while the harmonies and lyrics convey an energetic vibe; it’s a prime track to play with a bunch of people in the room so they can start dancing and acting a bit crazy. With a soft tone at the beginning, “Sit Next To Me” has a soulful sound that is anchored by a pristine bass line, and the electronic elements mentioned earlier have a huge presence. A rhythmic voyage is undertaken when “Static Space Lover” invades the senses, and actress Jena Malone lends her vocal talents.

Foster the People will be heading back to the New England area when they play the House of Blues in Boston on Sep 13. It promises to be a wild time so make sure you head to the “Hub” and check out the show. While you’re there, grab a copy of the new album: It will give you a heavy dose of jive and make you feel alive.

Stream Sacred Hearts Club via Spotify: open.spotify.com/album/5lFvZh6pCTJzr9UStebyCF

Foster the People’s web site: fosterthepeople.com