After releasing one of the best alternative albums of at least the last five years, Foster The People had a lot to live up to. Their sophomore album, Supermodel, certainly exceeds expectations.

From the moment the first track began, “Are You What You Want To Be?”, the album was a keeper. It was a fresh, amped up start for the band after their success thanks to tracks like the song that put them on the map in the summer of 2011, “Pumped Up Kicks”. The chemistry that the three band members have shines through on this song and is typically going to translate quite flawlessly live. Instantly it was apparent that Supermodel was not going to be your average sophomore slump.

Musically the band has grown a lot since their last full length album (Torches) in 2011. Frontman Mark Foster plays the acoustic guitar on many tracks including the refreshing song, “Ask Yourself” and the surprisingly vulnerable closing track, “Fire Escape”. Much like the rest of the album, the two feel organic and refreshing and prove that there are no questions about how much the band has truly matured.

There are two songs that may seem weaker than the rest. The single, “Coming of Age”, is a great representation of the album as a whole, but is certainly not the best song on the album. It doesn’t show much lyrical or musical growth, but is still catchy and a fun listen. Another song, “Goats In Trees”, just may not be favorite. The song is still worthy of praise because there is an interesting amount of variety from Foster vocally. The songs are a bit weaker, but are by no means awful to listen to.

The three songs that stand out most are “A Beginner’s Guide To Destroying The Moon” (an amazing title alone), “The Truth”, and, without a doubt, “Pseudologia Fantastica”. These songs show the most growth and bring that wow factor that initially drew listeners to the band.

So far in 2014 Supermodel is the best alternative album of the year. It will be exciting to continue to see the band get better and better with age.