"Coming of Age" by Foster the People

Foster the People (left to right): Bassist Cubbie Fink, vocalist and keyboardist Mark Foster, and Drummer Mark Pontius

Hey guys, Lia here for your Thursday Alternative review!

Oh man, Foster the People. Their first album, Torches, was so out there and original! It really impressed me. You could tell that these guys weren't new at writing and producing because that album was off-the-wall random, but somehow they made it work into such a cohesive sound. I love it when a group understands exactly the sound they want to put out and executes it perfectly. It's probably because Mark Foster, who started the band, spent years working as a commercial jingle writer and so understands the audience he wants to reach.

Foster the People's first well-known song began as a viral success. I'm 100% positive everyone has heard "Pumped Up Kicks" once before, whether in commercials, on the radio, or on YouTube. That song was everywhere. And if you weren't aware, it's actually about the homicidal thoughts of a troubled teen, so if you weren't amazed at Foster's songwriting then remember he made you jam to a song about a kid murdering people.

But anyway. Foster the People are back! Their new song "Coming of Age" sounds like a less-showy-but-still-good version of their songs in Torches. It's definitely a more grown-up version of the young, vibrant Foster the People songs I'm used to, but after three years since Torches, I can't blame them for growing up a bit. This song shows a great quality that I wish some artists and bands would adopt: restraint. It's all well and good for a pop superstar who has songwriters at their beck and call to be showy at every album. But for a group like Foster the People, who create original music by themselves, they have to show restraint and I'm so glad they decided to do that with "Coming of Age."

"Coming of Age" has great lyrics that remind me of Catcher in the Rye and Holden Caulfield wandering around in New York getting into altercations and feeling generally apathetic about his life. It also reminds me of my own (hard, awkward) journey to growing up. Because, to be honest, that's what a coming-of-age is. It's awkward and hard and you feel like you're not a proper person yet, but you still have responsibilities and expectations, but you're so tired of fighting and not seeing the point of everything that it drives you mad, but then you realize it's part of the process and you just let it all go. I don't know how they did it, but they definitely captured that spirit, all the prickly and angst-y and resigned feelings rolled up in a catchy melody that somehow also incorporates that Southern California vibe to it.

Overall, it's a really solid song and I love it, so please listen to it below and tell me what you think!

Lyrics: 

Well, I see you standing there like a rabid dog
And you got those crying eyes
Makes me wanna surrender and wrap you in my arms
You know I try to live without regrets
I'm always moving forward and not looking back
But I tend to leave a trail of debt while I'm moving ahead
And so I'm stepping away

(Ahhhh...)

'Cause I got nothing to say

Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm coming of age
Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm coming of age

And when my fear pulls me out to sea
And the stars are hidden by my pride and my enemies
I seem to hurt the people that care the most
Just like an animal I protect my pride
When I'm too bruised to fight
And even when I'm wrong I tend to think I'm right

Well I'm bored at the game
And too tired to rage

Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age
Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age

Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age
Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age

[Piano]

Feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age
Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age
Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age
Feels like, feels like it's coming
It feels like, feels like I'm of coming of age

Rating: 3 1/2 RECORDS

Photo: AmericanSongwriter.com

Infomation: Wikipedia