Foster The People

Los Angeles indie rock trio Foster the People crafts atmospheric, psychedelic pop steeped in dance grooves. Their breakthrough arrived via the 2010 single “Pumped Up Kicks,” which earned heavy rotation on KROQ and spread rapidly across the internet. In early 2011 the group issued a self-titled EP containing the track, and after a gradual ascent it entered the Top Ten before year’s end. Later that same year they unveiled their debut full-length, Torches, which reached number eight on the U.S. charts. Three years afterward they returned with the Paul Epworth-produced sophomore effort Supermodel, climbing to number three on the Billboard 200. Their third album, Sacred Hearts Club, yielded the single “Sit Next to Me,” which peaked just outside the Top 40. Following a tenth-anniversary reissue of their first record, the band issued its fourth studio album, the funk- and disco-infused Paradise State of Mind, in 2024.

The project originated in 2009 when multi-instrumentalist and singer-songwriter Mark Foster launched it as a solo endeavor in Los Angeles. He soon recruited longtime friend Cubbie Fink on bass and drummer Mark Pontius to solidify the trio. The following year the group posted “Pumped Up Kicks” on its site, generating strong online interest and KROQ airplay while delivering crowded sets at the SXSW festival in Texas. These developments drew major-label attention, culminating in a deal with Columbia’s Startime International imprint. Early 2011 brought the self-titled EP, and with major-label backing the single achieved global success.

Although the track rose quickly, the members were given space to develop their debut album while “Pumped Up Kicks” appeared on shows such as Gossip Girl and Homeland as well as numerous commercials. That summer they released Torches, produced primarily by Greg Kurstin (Kelly Clarkson, Ellie Goulding), with additional contributions from Paul Epworth (Adele, Friendly Fires). Extensive touring followed across North America and Europe. In 2012 the band claimed the Billboard Music Award for Top Rock Song and earned nominations at the Grammy, BRIT, NME, and Teen Choice awards.

Material for the follow-up began taking shape during those live dates, with initial recordings captured on portable equipment before proper studio sessions. Supermodel, again helmed by Paul Epworth, arrived in March 2014 and incorporated an expanded palette of horns, pedal steel guitar, harpsichord, synthesizers, and both analog and programmed percussion. It outperformed its predecessor by reaching number three on the U.S. album chart, while the singles “Coming of Age” and “Best Friend” both reached the Top Ten on the alternative chart. In 2015 Fink departed, after which the remaining members released the standalone single “The Unforeseeable Fate of Mr. Jones” that December.

New songs from the forthcoming third album surfaced live in 2016, and three of them appeared on an EP issued in April 2017. Sacred Hearts Club followed in July of that year, reflecting a funky, electronic, ’80s-style R&B sensibility. Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis joined Josh Abraham, Lars Stalfors, and Oligee on production duties, and the set included the singles “Loyal Like Sid & Nancy” and “Sit Next to Me,” the latter remixed in 2018 by the Grammy-winning team the Stereotypes. The album re-entered the Top 50 of the Billboard 200 and climbed to number eight on the Top Alternative Albums chart. Also in 2018 came the one-off single “Worst Nites,” followed in 2019 by the standalone track “Style.”

December 2020 brought the fourth EP, In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing, recorded largely remotely amid the COVID-19 pandemic and featuring the single “Lamb’s Wool,” issued both independently and as a collaboration with Poolside. In May 2021 Foster the People celebrated the tenth anniversary of their debut with the deluxe Torches X edition, which added and remixed tracks including the single “Broken Jaw.” That October, Pontius stepped away amicably to focus on family life, leaving Foster as the sole original member alongside instrumentalists Isom Innis and Sean Cimino, both of whom had joined in 2010 and became full-time members in 2017. The same month the band released the Deadmau5 collaboration “Hyperlandia.”

Beginning in spring 2022, Foster headed to London to record at Paul Epworth’s The Church studios. Over the ensuing year and a half he alternated between that facility and Los Angeles’ EastWest Studios, sharing production responsibilities with Innis. The single “Lost in Space” emerged in May 2024 as the first preview of the fourth album, Paradise State of Mind. Subsequent releases included “Take Me Back” and “Low Vibrations.” Issued that August, the record embraced a club-oriented fusion of ’70s and ’80s funk, disco, and pop shaped by the work of Chic’s Nile Rodgers, Giorgio Moroder, and Prince. It also served as the final album for multi-instrumentalist Cimino, who exited after the sessions.