Foster the People: Torches – review

Recent summers have tended to throw up a hit that's slightly indie, slightly pop, and completely unavoidable. Think of Too Fake by Hockey, Young Folks by Peter Bjorn and John, or Monster by the Automatic; often these groups find it impossible to sell another song. Foster the People look likely to be 2011's version of that phenomenon thanks to Pumped Up Kicks, which amounts to little more than a bassline and a chorus: "All the other kids with their pumped-up kicks/ Better run, better run, outrun my gun." It's as irresistible as it is infuriating, and by a distance the most memorable thing on their debut. For the most part, Torches sounds like a faux-edgy take on the likes of Maroon 5 – not the reconfiguring of soft rock the likes of Gayngs and Destroyer have attempted, but easy-listening, in-one-ear-out-the-other drivetime pop, with synth sounds du jour instead of palm-muted guitars. Don't Stop (Color on the Walls) might provide a second hit, but the shiny, reflective surfaces of the rest deflect closer attention.