Composition
"Coming of Age" was written with Foster the People frontman Mark Foster's social life as a background to the song. Foster stated to XFM London: :"Lyrically it is almost a confession. It is about a moment of clarity, having a moment of clarity and I think for me this year, being home, was that quiet after the storm of touring for two years and my life drastically changing. It was kind of the first breath I had to really look around and see that there were some things that happened during that period with my friends and with my loved ones, with the people that are close to me and with myself as well. It is the first time that I got a clear look on those things and that's kind of what the song is about. It's about growing up."Recording
The song was the last to be written and recorded during the recording sessions for '' Supermodel''. The song was conceived during the recording of the album, and had not been written beforehand. Mark Foster described it as a song that "came out of nowhere", saying, "It's kind of funny, it's the last song we wrote and recorded and it is the first song everybody is going to hear".Music video
"Coming of Age" premiered on YouTube on January 13, 2014, with the song being accompanied by time-lapse footage depicting the creation of a mural of the ''Supermodel'' cover. Directed by Vern Moen and Zachary Rockwood, the video was filmed in South Los Angeles Street and showcases the LA Freewalls project. The official music video, directed by BRTHR, followed on February 6, 2014. The video inspired by 1980s teen films, depicts the stories of various struggling Californian children, intercut with footage of the band playing on a stage. Scenes include a dejected high school student wearing a mascot suit and being bullied by jocks, a teenager running away from cops, a young boxer struggling in the ring, and angst-ridden teenagers confronting a group of popular students. Describing the video, Foster stated: "The emotional arcs of the characters were pretty empowering." He singled out the boxer subplot as his favorite, as it reminded him of the 1976 film '' Rocky''.Reception
Garrett Kamps of ''Track listing
Personnel
;Foster the People * Cubbie – bass * Mark Foster – lead vocals, guitar, synthesizer, harpsichord, piano * Mark Pontius – drums ;Additional personnel * Isom Innis – synthesizer, programming * Sean Cimino – rhythm acoustic guitar, additional effects *Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
Release history
References
{{authority control 2014 singles Foster the People songs Columbia Records singles Song recordings produced by Paul Epworth Songs written by Paul Epworth 2014 songs Songs written by Mark Foster (singer)