假面名模 (2014)

Supermodel is the second studio album by American indie pop band Foster the People. The album was co-produced by their frontman Mark Foster and British musician Paul Epworth, and was released by Columbia Records on March 14, 2014, in Friday-release countries and March 18, 2014, in the United States. It is the follow-up to the band's 2011 debut album, Torches.

A concept album, Supermodel features themes of negativity towards modern popular culture and consumer ideology throughout the record and its related artworks. Conceived mostly by Foster, the album deals primarily with social issues and "the ugly side of capitalism", and is described by Foster as "a conversation with God. Trying to explore who God is." Recorded and produced throughout 2012 and 2013, the album also features a departure from the sound of Torches, utilizing more acoustic instruments and various sounds of different cultures of the world while retaining the "perfect pop record" sound. The band wrote and recorded many of the songs while finishing up touring their first album, completing it over a nearly three-year period.

The album was heavily promoted by the band and Columbia Records in the lead-up to its release, with an accompanying documentary series of the same name and a 130-foot mural painted in Los Angeles, the largest on the West Coast of the United States. The album was preceded by three singles released by Columbia in 2014: "Coming of Age" released in January 2014, "Pseudologia Fantastica" in February, and "Best Friend" in March. Upon release, Supermodel received mixed reviews from critics yet remains a fan favorite.

Background

Forming in 2009, Foster the People released their debut album Torches in 2011. The album, produced by Paul Epworth, Greg Kurstin, Rich Costey, Tony Hoffer and Mark Foster, was released to positive reception, and peaked at number eight on the Billboard 200 in the US and number one on the ARIA Albums Chart in Australia. It has been certified platinum in Australia and the US. In the Philippines and Canada, Torches was certified gold. The album was also nominated for the 2011 Grammy Award for Best Alternative Music Album, losing to Bon Iver's Bon Iver, Bon Iver. Capitalizing on their success following the release of Torches, six singles were released by the band across 2011 and 2012: "Pumped Up Kicks", which became a major hit worldwide, peaking at number three on the Billboard Hot 100 and topping the Australian, Canadian, Polish and Slovak singles charts; "Helena Beat", which topped the Canadian singles chart and became the most played track on Australian radio station Triple J in 2011; "Call It What You Want", which has been certified Gold in Australia; "Don't Stop (Color on the Walls)", which has been certified gold in the United States and Canada; "Broken Jaw / Ruby", which was released exclusively on Record Store Day; and "Houdini", whose companion music video was nominated for Best Short Form Music Video at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards.

To follow up Torches, frontman Mark Foster wanted an album with "more grit" than Torches, and looked to British rock bands such as The Clash and The Kinks for inspiration. He also cited influences from West African music and David Bowie, complementary to a need for the band's music to be more instrumentally based rather than electronic as additional driving factors in the creative process. Foster spoke to music magazine Rolling Stone in August 2012, stating:

"One thing about Foster The People is that it's taking pieces of a lot of different genres of music and kind of melding them together. In the first record, I was looking at my vision for the project through a piece of opaque glass. This next record's going to be more evolved; it's going to be a clearer picture of what I've had in my head when it comes to that vision. Working on this project and getting deeper into electronic music is gonna help bring a deeper colour in the next Foster record."

Deciding on the final name for the album, Foster "wanted it called ‘A Beginner's Guide To Destroying The Moon’" or "‘Pseudologia Fantastica’", but came to the conclusion that "these names were too hard to remember" and "too hard to say", so the band opted to go for the name "Supermodel" instead. "A Beginner's Guide To Destroying The Moon" and "Pseudologia Fantastica" would later become songs on the album, with the latter being released as a single.