Live: Foster The People @ Academy 2

Foster The People
Academy 2
23^rd November
3 stars

After their huge success this summer with infectious indie crossover hit ‘Pumped Up Kicks’, it was no surprise that Foster The People were upgraded to Manchester’s Academy 2 venue to showcase their debut album Torches. Unlike a lot of bands of their ilk who shy away from giving such a mega hit too much limelight in their set, Foster The People dedicated their whole encore to an extended version of the aforementioned track. The ultra catchy refrain was even given dubstep and dance breakdowns, which frontman Mark Foster took to the crowd to sing a final dozen times. It’s a shame really that their rendition of this was so over egged as the main body of the set was by no means lacking in substance.
With the use of multiple percussionists, the very ‘Fix Up Look Sharp’ sounding drum intro to opener ‘Houdini’ had the receptive crowd’s feet shuffling from the off and ‘Miss You’ and ‘Life on a Nickel’ showed the band’s penchant for groove laden indie pop. Foster stopped a few times to praise Manchester’s music legacy in a surprisingly low voice, very much in contrast to his Jamiroquai styled vocal. His strange dancing, which was a bizarre fusion between Ian Curtis and Mika, accompanied the “ooh la la’s” of ‘I Would Do Anything For You’ and the irresistible set highlight ‘Helena Beat’ gained a rapturous response from what by this point was a fully satisfied audience .

Foster The People’s obvious downfall however is that many bands have already tread the same path as them recently and done it a lot better. ‘Call it What You Want’ is a pop gem but is too heavily indebted to the likes of MGMT, Empire of the Sun and Miike Snow.

Foster The People – Pumped Up Kicks

Foster The People – Helena Beat