After a seven-year wait, Foster the People has released a new album, Paradise State of Mind. While the “Pumped Up Kicks” outfit has been quiet since they put out their last record, 2017’s Sacred Hearts Club, the world certainly has not. As frontman Mark Foster tells ABC Audio, he was also going through some personal changes during that time.
“A lot of life has happened, and I think a lot of that life is reflected in this album,” Foster says of Paradise State of Mind. “It’s probably the deepest record I’ve been a part of, it’s the most honest.”
After finishing the tour behind Sacred Hearts Club, Foster took a year away from the band to figure some things out internally. Then, of course, came the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Coming out of that, it took a minute to really process all of that, and then also figure out, ‘OK, what does Foster the People, what do we want to say next?'” Foster says. “‘How do we respond to the world, all the changes in the world?'”
To that end, Foster describes some of themes of Paradise State of Mind as “the spirit trying to break free from the mind” and the “inherent tension of what it is to be human,” all wrapped up in a glossy, ’70s- and ’80s-inspired sonic package. Ultimately, though, Foster wanted the record to carry a message of hope.
“For me, it was just kind of, like, an expression of release, optimism, but also trying to be authentic throughout it, so it’s not escapist,” Foster says. “Sometimes escapist music is great, but that’s not what I wanted to do with this one.”
Paradise State of Mind is out now.
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