Now that the year is almost over, I am trying to make time for the albums released by bands that I’ve had on my radar all year. There were some that came out that I was just more excited for, and then you’re all familiar with the vice grip that K-Pop has had on me since January. Can you blame a girl for slacking a little bit?
Foster the People, or what’s left of it anyway, released their first full length album since 2017 called Paradise State of Mind. This certainly wasn’t the Foster the People that I fell in love with. With that being said, I like that they fully committed to a disco vibe. There are also splashes of funk and jazz, but the overall sound is a groovy one and it was overall very fun to listen to. I did read that Mark Foster felt that the time we are living in now is very similar the 70s, where they also experienced a great degree of change politically, socially, and culturally. He found that all that seriousness covered in songs with sounds so upbeat and danceable was something he wanted to capture in the present day.
So it’s not like Foster the People are out here reinventing the wheel or anything, but maybe more so paying homage to that time in musical history. Personally, when I listened to this record, yes, it had the weirdness I’ve come to expect from Foster the People, but I also found myself thinking that if Empire of the Sun, Klaxons, and Scissor Sisters made an album together, this is exactly what it would sound like. And I’m not mad about it! For me though, most of this album is pleasant background music, though “Feed Me” and “Glitching” are superior. Those will for sure be on regular rotation going forward. I have no clue what a live show will look like for this band in the future, but I would not be opposed to seeing them again.
Next up I checked out Joywave’s latest, Permanent Pleasure. Having seen them earlier this year, they did promise a new album was coming, but provided no details on a name or when it would officially drop. Cue two months later where it dropped with absolutely no fanfare. In fact, I don’t think I found out about it until late into the summer. “Brain Damage” was the only single I ever heard about and that’s because it was released in February and played at the headlining show I attended. Apparently they also released the single “Scared,” which has a pretty funny video associated with it that cat lovers should totally check out. If I had to guess, I’d say Joywave are cat guys. There’s one on the cover and if I don’t think too hard about it, a lot of the lyrics seem to apply to cats, too.
Overall though, there was absolutely nothing exceptional about this album. The vocals are great and from a high level perspective, the songs are solid. But in the ten tracks Permanent Pleasure has to offer, not a single one of them stuck in my mind. I’m used to this band being pretty experimental and quirky, so to have something so middle of the road was kind of sad. If I had to pick a favorite from the album it was probably “He’s Back!,” but even then I couldn’t really call out why. The lead singles also offered nothing by way of making an impact, which is what the job of a single is! I know I’ll be seeing them again in the future, but I hope they make something a little more memorable next time.
Still an album or two left to review before the year is out, so I hope to get through them soon – keep an eye out!