Foster is an artist that does a lot of stuff, from his early days on SoundCloud to now, he has continued to innovate his sound with new genres and styles; from pop to rnb to lofi and taking elements of each to create the artist he is today. You could call “Less Than Three” a return to form for the Nashville based pop artist, or you could call it a new beginning if you only just found his music. I’ve had the pleasure of listening to this project a tad early and even getting to interview the man himself prior to this article and it it one of my favorite releases of 2022 so far, especially as a sonic experience. Looking at the project on a macro level, these are some of the best mixed songs I’ve heard from Foster or this scene for that matter and the overall auditory affair is really damn near breathtaking–especially if you are an audiophile. Enough on the macro, let’s look at a the songs on this project.
Less Than Three: This is the title track of the project and also the first song on the project. It starts with with this chorused guitar that really adds a mellow feeling to start this the EP off with low-key pop trap drums. The chorus is catchy and the velvety vocals sit beautifully into the instrumental.
Mandela Effect: The concept of “Mandela Effect” is very different in comparison, combining rap and singing over a dreamy yet upbeat instrumental. A real nice touch was the ambient gang vocals included towards the end, as it thematically falls into the dreamy aesthetic already devised for the song.
Wish You Were Here: Wish you were here we spoke about back in late June and still manages to be a song I continue to come back to and sing the chorus in my head. A very catchy song with some amazing production behind it–still a personal favorite of mine.
When I Needed You the Most: My absolute favorite song on the project due to the nature of the production. The whole beat is based in triplets and it’s a breath of fresh air when compared to the rest of the project. Foster really sounds hungry in this song, especially in the verses where he really does rap his ass off.
Digital Girlfriend: Digital Girlfriend fits right in with the summer bops that you blast with the top down at 2:52pm on a Saturday, and that is why I love it so much. The beat itself is more sparse in comparison to his other music, and allows for Foster to really dominate the track with his vocal performance.
Here We Go Again: This is the final song of the project and it really helps tie the project together, essentially taking every story from the previous songs and turning it on it head saying, “here we go again.” The cycle of love, the cycle of emotions and relationships, and we’ll always end up going over it again and again.
I mentioned earlier that I got to interview Foster prior to writing this article, and I have to say he was a joy to talk to as I learned more about this project; here are some of the highlights.
So, what really inspired this project to come about?: I got to work with some really cool people this year, people who really are in with the pop sound and the project came about in a really organic way that I’m super proud of. the musicality of each producer and engineer really shined through on this project and it allowed me to be more creative than I normally would be.
Was pop always what you wanted to do for this project?: I did always want to do a pop project but there was a time where I wanted to add more acoustic songs to this project as opposed to the pop/pop trap sound I went for with this EP. The team and I decided to keep it pop for the time being to keep it cohesive.
Would you be open to doing more acoustic stuff in the future, or even other genres?: Very much so as I love experimenting and trying new sounds and styles. I definitely want to do some more acoustic songs in the future[I did ask him about hyperpop, he declined to comment].
Is there a message in this EP for your listens to take hold?: So to answer the question I wouldn’t really say there is overarching thematic material but the stories draw on anecdotes and some real life occurances that I think will really resonate with people. Whatever you’re going through you are not alone and everyone everybody resonates with songs that have a message. These stories that are interesting to tell and they have a unique twist(like Digital Girlfriend) that I think will really resonate with people, especially as the world becomes more digital.
Do you have a favorite song on the EP?: That’s a tough question so I’m going to have to pick three different answers.
- Lyrically – Less Than Three
- Message Wise: Here We Go Again
- Sonically: Wish You Were Here
‘Less Than Three’ is a project designed for the current generation that is enthralled in the digital space and it is available now to listen to on all platforms!