On Repeat: Coming of Age

Foster the People. Foster. The People. People the Foster. No three words have made me happier in my entire life than today.

Since their first album dropped in 2011, I have loved this band with all my heart. Listening to Torches on repeat felt like an initiation rite. They have topped my list of Bands I Have To See Live Before I Die for the past three years. I have argued that their entire album is ten times better than that one song about fancy shoes.

And finally, they’re back.

Now, I may be late to this whole party, as I just found out today about their new single, “Coming of Age,” although a quick glance on Facebook shows me they’ve been dropping hints about their comeback for a while. But unlike the time I was in high school, I can’t keep up with the activities of all my favorite bands. So this has come as a much needed surprise.

But I digress. I’m here to talk about the song itself.

“Coming of Age” is, in my opinion, a perfect follow up to Torches. With Foster the People’s utterly distinct vocals, this song highlights their talent for making catchy music that I don’t feel horrible about singing in the hallways. Poised as the next crossover hit, with driving beats that mark this song as FTP style, I cannot see this song not being played on the radio. And while I don’t listen to the radio anymore, I will gladly applaud any alternative song that charts, even if it’s in the pop genre (and yes, pop is a genre, not just what is “popular”).

However, more than that, I can’t help but to smile at the incredible cleverness of it all. While it feels unfair to call Foster the People rookies, Torches was their first LP, making “Coming of Age” and the subsequent Supermodel, their sophomore release. While the lyrics deliver a song about a (winter?) romance-gone-astray, the single represents more than that. Literally, it is a coming of age for Foster the People. A band’s sophomore album must be perfect in order to beat the sophomore slump and simultaneously establish themselves as a credible and worthwhile artist, and Foster the People acknowledges that burden with grace. This song and forthcoming album will partially determine their future – whether they rise to eternal fame or fall among the other indie bands that have faded into the background.

Unfortunately, I won’t be able to accurately judge what kind of artist they will become until March 18^th when Supermodel is released. Hopefully this album will prove to me that they are in fact a band that will make a permanent mark on music history. For now, however, I will savor the way “Coming of Age” sounds as I walk to class – infectiously upbeat and yet somehow disarmingly beautiful.