Foster the People

Formed in Los Angeles in 2009 around Mark Foster, Foster the People first made their way through California’s small-club circuit before gaining wider attention when “Pumped Up Kicks” spread widely online in 2010. The project mixes indie pop, synth-pop, alternative rock and neo-psychedelic touches, featuring very melodic pop songwriting, danceable rhythms and a pronounced use of electronic textures while retaining a straightforward song form. After a first EP in 2011, Foster the People released Torches the same year, then Supermodel in 2014, a record more guitar-oriented with a more organic production. Sacred Hearts Club followed in 2017, at which point touring members Isom Innis and Sean Cimino officially joined the lineup, broadening the band’s scope toward a more flexible pop sometimes tinged with funk and psychedelia. Between standalone singles and the EP In the Darkest of Nights, Let the Birds Sing in 2020, Foster the People carried on while their lineup evolved, marked notably by the departures of Cubbie Fink, Mark Pontius and later Sean Cimino. Since 2024 Foster the People has been centered on the duo of Mark Foster and Isom Innis, with Paradise State of Mind (2024) continuing its taste for pop choruses, synthetic arrangements and more retro atmospheres.