''Torches'' is the debut studio album by American band
Foster the People
Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members are singer Mark Foster, guitarist Sean Cimino, and keyboardist Isom Innis.
Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending several years in ...
, released on May 23, 2011, by
Startime International and
Columbia Records. In 2010, the group parlayed the popularity of frontman
Mark Foster's song "
Pumped Up Kicks
"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the band's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP ''Foster the People'' and their debut album, ''Torches''. "Pu ...
" into a record deal with Startime International, and wrote the album to back the song's popularity. "Pumped Up Kicks" proved to be a
sleeper hit
In the entertainment industry, a sleeper hit is a film, television series, music release, video game, or some other entertainment product that was initially unsuccessful on release but became a success later on. A sleeper hit may have little prom ...
; after receiving significant airplay on
modern rock
Modern rock is an umbrella term used to describe rock music that is found on college rock radio stations. Some radio stations use this term to distinguish themselves from classic rock, which is based in 1960s–1980s rock music.
Radio format
Mod ...
stations, the song
crossed-over onto
contemporary hit radio and became one of 2011's most popular songs. Four additional singles were released from the album: "
Helena Beat
"Helena Beat" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It is the opening track from their debut studio album ''Torches'' and was released as the record's second single. It was solicited to radio on July 26, 2011, Archived by Wayback ...
", "
Call It What You Want", "
Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)
"Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People from their debut studio album ''Torches''. Written by the band's frontman Mark Foster, the song was released as the fourth single from the album on January 1 ...
", and "
Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician R ...
", which had previously been released as a promotional single in the United Kingdom prior to the album's release.
''Torches'' received generally favorable reviews from critics and was nominated for the
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
. The record peaked at number eight on the
''Billboard'' 200 in the US and number one on the
ARIA Albums Chart
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the offici ...
in Australia. It has been certified platinum in Australia and the US, the Philippines, and Canada.
Background and recording
Not long after the band formed, frontman
Mark Foster wrote and recorded the song "
Pumped Up Kicks
"Pumped Up Kicks" is a song by American indie pop band Foster the People. It was released as the band's debut single in September 2010, and the following year was included on their EP ''Foster the People'' and their debut album, ''Torches''. "Pu ...
" while working as a
jingle writer at Mophonics. The song proved to be the band's breakthrough in 2010,
going viral
Viral phenomena or viral sensation are objects or patterns that are able to replicate themselves or convert other objects into copies of themselves when these objects are exposed to them. Analogous to the way in which viruses propagate, the ter ...
, earning the band a booking at the
South by Southwest music festival in March 2010, and garnering attention from music industry professionals. Brent Kredel and Brett Williams were hired to co-manage the group and helped them obtain a record deal with
Columbia Records imprint
Startime International in May 2010.
After the record deal was finalized, Kredel said, "The focus was to stop everything and not work on any marketing or touring, but to make an album that backed up 'Pumped Up Kicks.'" To avoid the band becoming overexposed, Startime allowed the group to pace themselves and not rush an album that would cash in on the popularity of the song. Isaac Green of Startime said, "You can't control everything, but you can be meticulous about the music." From July to September 2010, the group wrote new material that would appear on ''Torches'', and they chose
Paul Epworth
Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member o ...
,
Rich Costey
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...
,
Tony Hoffer
Tony Hoffer is an American record producer, songwriter, and music mixer.
Career
Hoffer is credited for his work on multiple platinum-selling albums including The Kooks, The Thrills, Beck, Supergrass, Turin Brakes and Air. His records have bee ...
and
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...
to co-produce the record with Mark Foster.
Artwork
The cover artwork was designed by
Young & Sick
Young & Sick is a Los Angeles and New York City based music and art project. The solo project is the brainchild of Dutch artist Nick van Hofwegen, described as a "double threat" in art and music by the ''Wall Street Journal'', who is responsible f ...
(formerly known as Japayork), a friend of Mark Foster's who was interested in doing illustrations for an album. The group's drummer Mark Pontius explained the origins of the artwork:
Promotion
"Call It What You Want" was also used in the soundtrack of the football video game by
EA Sports
EA Sports is a division of Electronic Arts that develops and publishes sports video games. Formerly a marketing gimmick of Electronic Arts, in which they tried to imitate real-life sports networks by calling themselves the "EA Sports Network ...
, ''
FIFA 12
''FIFA 12'' (titled ''FIFA Soccer 12'' in North America) is a football simulation video game developed by EA Canada and published by Electronic Arts worldwide under the EA Sports label. It was released in September 2011 on consoles for PlayStat ...
''. "Houdini" appears in the soundtrack to ''
SSX''. The song "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" is prominently featured in two Nissan commercials titled "Headroom" and "Legroom." The song was also used in the soundtrack of the racing game ''
Forza Horizon
''Forza Horizon'' is a 2012 racing video game developed by Playground Games and published by Microsoft Studios for the Xbox 360 on 23 October 2012. The game is the fifth instalment of the '' Forza'' series, having originally spun-off from Turn ...
''. The music video for "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)" was featured in
stereoscopic 3D
Stereoscopy (also called stereoscopics, or stereo imaging) is a technique for creating or enhancing the illusion of depth in an image by means of stereopsis for binocular vision. The word ''stereoscopy'' derives . Any stereoscopic image is ...
on the
Nintendo 3DS's application
Nintendo Video
Nintendo Video was a video on demand service for the Nintendo 3DS which streams hand-picked 3D and 2D video content from CollegeHumor, Aardman Animations, Blue Man Group, Channel Frederator Network and other studios. Previously, the service was ...
. Foster the People appeared as the musical guest on the October 8, 2011, episode of ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (often abbreviated to ''SNL'') is an American late-night live television sketch comedy and variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC and Peacock (streaming service), Peacock. ...
'', playing "Pumped Up Kicks" and "Houdini".
Kenny G
Kenneth Bruce Gorelick (born June 5, 1956), known professionally as Kenny G, is an American smooth jazz saxophonist, composer, and producer. His 1986 album ''Duotones'' brought him commercial success. Kenny G is one of the best-selling artis ...
appeared as a guest performer on the latter song.
Through the
iTunes Store
The iTunes Store is a digital media store operated by Apple Inc. It opened on April 28, 2003, as a result of Steve Jobs' push to open a digital marketplace for music. As of April 2020, iTunes offered 60 million songs, 2.2 million apps, 25,00 ...
, the album is available with the bonus track "Broken Jaw" (which was released as a
Record Store Day
Record Store Day is an annual event inaugurated in 2007 and held on one Saturday (typically the third) every April and every Black Friday in November to "celebrate the culture of the independently owned record store". The day brings together fa ...
single limited to 1,000 copies).
Best Buy features a CD with the bonus tracks "Love" and "Chin Music for the Unsuspecting Hero". Certain independent record stores included free remix EPs with the purchase of CD or vinyl. In August 2021, ''Torches X (Deluxe Edition)'' was announced to mark the album's tenth anniversary. Released on November 12, 2021, it features a cover of "Pumped Up Kicks" by
Gus Dapperton
Brendan Patrick Rice (born March 11, 1997), better known by his stage name Gus Dapperton, is an American singer and songwriter from Warwick, New York.
History
Dapperton has received particular attention for his fashion style, consisting at som ...
.
Critical reception
''Torches'' received generally favorable reviews. According to review aggregator website
Metacritic
Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...
, it received an average critic score of 69 out of 100, based on 20 reviews.
AllMusic
AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...
described the album as a "catchy, electro-lite dance-pop that fits nicely next to such contemporaries as
MGMT and
Phoenix
Phoenix most often refers to:
* Phoenix (mythology), a legendary bird from ancient Greek folklore
* Phoenix, Arizona, a city in the United States
Phoenix may also refer to:
Mythology
Greek mythological figures
* Phoenix (son of Amyntor), a ...
."
''
Rolling Stone
''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner, and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. It was first known for its ...
'' said, "their debut is genre-juggling, bedroom-dance-floor magic cut with moody-boy lyrics".
U2 guitarist
The Edge
David Howell Evans (born 8 August 1961), better known as the Edge or simply Edge,McCormick (2006), pp. 21, 23–24 is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing voca ...
singled ''Torches'' out as one of his favorite records, calling it "a very interesting new album. Very 21st century pop, but it's beautifully made and thrilling. You see, we're always interested in the new thing..."
Elton John also said that ''Torches'' was one of his favorites and one of the best albums of 2011.
Blue Öyster Cult
Blue Öyster Cult ( ; sometimes abbreviated BÖC or BOC) is an American rock band formed on Long Island in Stony Brook, New York, in 1967, and best known for the singles "(Don't Fear) The Reaper", "Burnin' for You", and "Godzilla". The band h ...
guitarist
Buck Dharma
Donald Roeser (born November 12, 1947), known by his stage name Buck Dharma, is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He is the sole constant member of hard rock band Blue Öyster Cult since the group's formation in 1967. He wrote and ...
stated on ''
That Metal Show
''That Metal Show'' is a talk show that premiered on VH1 Classic on November 15, 2008 and ended on May 9, 2015 with a span of 14 seasons. Hosted by Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine, the series features three hosts interviewing musi ...
'' that ''Torches'' was one of his favorite new albums.
The album was nominated for the 2012
Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album
The Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums in the alternative genre at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. Ho ...
, while "Pumped Up Kicks" received a nomination for
Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Pop Duo/Group Performance is an award presented at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards. According to the 63rd Grammy Awards category rules, "this category ...
.
Commercial performance
''Torches'' debuted at number eight on the US
''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 33,000 copies in the first week. On April 28, 2014, the album was certified
platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver".
Pla ...
by the
Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of a million copies in the United States.
Track listing
Personnel
;Foster the People
*
Mark Foster – vocals (all tracks), synthesizer, programming (tracks 1, 3–10); guitar (tracks 1, 4, 6), percussion (tracks 1, 4, 7, 9), all instruments (track 2), piano (tracks 3, 5–8, 10),
Wurlitzer
The Rudolph Wurlitzer Company, usually referred to as simply Wurlitzer, is an American company started in Cincinnati in 1853 by German immigrant (Franz) Rudolph Wurlitzer. The company initially imported stringed, woodwind and brass instruments ...
(tracks 3, 6), vibraphone (track 6), drums, glockenspiel (track 8)
*Cubbie Fink – bass (tracks 1, 3–7, 10), backing vocals (tracks 3, 6)
*
Mark Pontius
Mark Andrew Pontius is an American musician who is best known as a founding member and drummer of the American alt pop band Foster the People; he left the band in 2021. Prior to joining Foster the People in 2009, Pontius was part of Los Angeles ...
– drums (tracks 1, 3–7, 10), percussion (track 1), backing vocals (track 3)
;Additional musicians
*
Greg Kurstin
Gregory Allen Kurstin (born May 14, 1969) is an American record producer, multi-instrumentalist, and songwriter. He has won nine Grammy Awards, including Producer of the Year, Non-Classical in 2017 and 2018, and written and produced four songs ...
– programming (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10), synthesizer (track 1)
*
Paul Epworth
Paul Richard Epworth (born 25 July 1974) is an English record producer, songwriter, musician, and remixer. He has worked with artists including Adele, Florence and the Machine, Rihanna, and Maxïmo Park, among many others. He is a member o ...
– programming, keyboards, percussion (tracks 3, 8)
*Sean Cimino – guitar (track 5)
*
Gary Grant – trumpet (track 7)
*Zach Heiligman – programming (track 9)
Technical
* Mark Foster – recording (tracks 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9, 10), additional engineering (tracks 1, 3, 7), mixing (track 2)
*
Billy Bush
William Hall Bush (born October 13, 1971) is an American radio and television host. He is a member of the Bush family, a nephew of President George H. W. Bush and cousin of President George W. Bush and Florida governor Jeb Bush.
After appearin ...
– recording (track 1)
* Greg Kurstin – recording (tracks 1, 5, 9, 10), mixing (tracks 1, 5, 9)
*
Jesse Shatkin – additional engineering (track 1), recording assistant (5, 9, 10)
*
Mark Rankin – recording, mixing (tracks 3, 6, 8)
* Charlie Stavish – recording (tracks 4, 7), mix session engineer (track 10)
* Chris Steffen – recording assistant (tracks 4, 7)
*
Rich Costey
Rich may refer to:
Common uses
* Rich, an entity possessing wealth
* Rich, an intense flavor, color, sound, texture, or feeling
** Rich (wine), a descriptor in wine tasting
Places United States
* Rich, Mississippi, an unincorporated comm ...
– mixing (tracks 4, 7, 10)
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Decade-end-charts
Certifications
References
{{Authority control
2011 debut albums
Albums produced by Greg Kurstin
Albums produced by Paul Epworth
Albums produced by Tony Hoffer
Columbia Records albums
Foster the People albums
Startime International albums