Three and a half months after its release, “Lost In Space” by Foster the People finally ascends to the #1 spot, something I would not have predicted when it first appeared on my chart 12 weeks ago. Though they’ve been one of my favorite bands for well over 10 years, I wasn’t sure about the song at first. With its throwback disco/funk beat and heavy electronic vibe , it sounded quite different from anything they’d done before. In time, however, it eventually grew on me to the point where I now love it. I like its exuberant cinematic feel, especially the lush orchestral strings. “Lost In Space” was the lead single from their fourth studio album Paradise State of Mind, released on August 16, and is their fourth song to top my chart, following “Pumped Up Kicks”, “Coming of Age” and “Sit Next To Me”.

Still based in Los Angeles since forming in 2009, Foster the People now consists of founding member and front man Mark Foster and multi-instrumentalist Isom Innis, who started as a touring member of the band way back in 2010. A lot has happened with Foster and the band since the release of their 2017 album Sacred Hearts Club; he got sober in 2018, married actress Julia Garner in 2019, and saw the departure of the band’s founding drummer Mark Pontius in early 2021 during the waning days of the Covid pandemic, when they were unable to tour or perform live. All these changes caused Foster to look inward. In an interview with GRAMMY.com, he explained “I just dove into myself, really unpacking a lot of things emotionally, psychologically. Finding out who Mark is outside of music and getting comfortable with that.” He decided to explore new musical sounds for their next record Paradise State of Mind, diving into the disco/funk crossover pioneered by artists like Nile Rodgers and Giorgio Moroder in the late ’70s, utilizing synth stylings similar to that of P-Funk’s Bernie Worrell. In a Reddit thread, he noted that 95% of the synths are analog, and all of the strings are live.

The colorful video, a great deal of which is shot in vivid red hues, was directed by Rupert Höller. It’s kind of a modernized and trippy take on the Busby Berkeley movie musicals of the 1930s, with Mark Foster filmed on various sets, one of them a tall red staircase, and surrounded by lots of dancers. Though it’s a pretty enjoyable video overall, I can’t figure out the intended meaning of all those hands swaying, fluttering and caressing Foster’s face.

In other chart news of note, Virginia-based singer-songwriter Jake Mimikos, who’s been recording and releasing music as The Frontier for the past 10 years, has just changed his music moniker to Talk in waves, to reflect his evolving sound. His latest single “Like You Do” advances a spot to #3. English singer-songwriters Lola Young and Myles Smith enter the top 10 with their songs “Messy” and “Stargazing”, each moving up two spots to #9 and #10, respectively.

Three marvelous songs make their debut this week, the first of which is the lovely and captivating “Peaceful Place” by enormously talented Texas-based singer-songwriter Leon Bridges. I love his pleasing style of R&B-influenced neo soul, particularly his smooth and warm vocals. The song is the lead single from his fourth studio album Leon, scheduled for release on October 4, 2024, and marks Bridges’ sixth appearance on my chart, four times as a solo artist and twice in collaboration with Texas-based psych rock band Khruangbin. His beautiful song “Bad Bad News” ranks #29 on my Top 100 Songs of the 2010’s list.

Entering at #29 is the delightful “can’t slow down” by San Diego-based indie pop trio almost monday. It’s their second appearance on my chart, their first being their 2020 single “broken people”. They’ll be releasing their debut studio album Dive on September 25th. Last, but certainly not least, is “Favourite” by Irish band Fontaines D.C., the second single to be released from their outstanding latest album Romance, which dropped August 23rd. Along with “Starburster”, which spent three weeks at #1 and currently sits at #4, “Favourite” gives the band two songs on this chart.

1. LOST IN SPACE – Foster the People (3)
2. THE CRAVING – twenty one pilots (1)
3. LIKE YOU DO – Talk in waves (4)
4. STARBURSTER – Fontaines D.C. (2)
5. OH NO! – The Decemberists (6)
6. ESPRESSO – Sabrina Carpenter (8)
7. HIGH IN LOW PLACES – Beach Weather (5)
8. RAINBOW – Cage the Elephant (10)
9. MESSY – Lola Young (11)
10. STARGAZING – Myles Smith (12)
11. PANORAMIC VIEW – AWOLNATION (7)
12. BIRDS OF A FEATHER – Billie Eilish (14)
13. GOOD LUCK, BABE! – Chappell Roan (15)
14. WHAT IF I FEEL LIKE THIS MY WHOLE LIFE? – HULLAH (9)
15. YOU JUST PLAYED MY MIND – Oli Barton (16)
16. WAR – Healer (18)
17. HONEY – Mr Bewlay (19)
18. INTO GOLD – London Grammar (20)
19. THAT’S HOW I’M FEELING – Jack White (21)
20. DEATH VALLEY HIGH – Orville Peck & Beck (22)
21. WAKING LIFE – Nicholas a. Milillo feat. Dee Wolf, Bobby Jasso, Gabrielle Marella and the voice of Tony Milillo (13)
22. PERMANENT RECORD – GG Fearn (26)
23. BIG CAT TATTOOS – Hamish Hawk (27)
24. A FORETOLD ECSTASY – Mayflower Madame (17)
25. HOLOGRAM – Raker (29)
26. GARMONBOZIA – Flying Lotus (30)
27. RUN YOUR MOUTH – The Marías (24)
28. PEACEFUL PLACE – Leon Bridges (N)
29. CAN’T SLOW DOWN – almost monday (N)
30. FAVOURITE – Fontaines D.C. (N)