Foster the People burst on the scene with their 2010 single “Pumped Up Kicks”, an alt-pop smash that paired fluffy textures with heavy lyrics about mental illness. Since then, the band has expertly blended light and dark, combining big hooks with cerebral lyrics on songs like the stomping “Style” and the serpentine “Coming of Age”. Mark Foster has spoken on social media about wanting to stay hungry and not take success for granted, and his band’s idiosyncratic path through pop reflects that underdog spirit—and it makes their genre-melding yet utterly poppy songs hit even harder.