Press Play: Young the Giant

After finding tons of success, bands may feel pressure to keep releasing guaranteed chart-toppers, but alt-rock group Young the Giant has found the sweet spot between mainstream and indie.  Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Eric Cannata, Francois Comtois, and Payam Doostzadeh make up the band, as we know it.  The band formed originally as The Jakes, before signing with Roadrunner Records in 2010 and becoming Young the Giant.  Since, they’ve played large festivals and toured with big names in alternative like Kings of Leon and Incubus.

While some bands may stick with a certain style album-after-album, Young the Giant follows a more evolutionary take with their releases. The group caught their big commercial break off their debut album, Young the Giant, as a group of 18-20 year old kids.  The hits off this album, “My Body” and “Cough Syrup”, stay some of the bands most popular songs.  In 2014, they released slightly-edgier album, Mind Over Matter.  Young the Giant then toured for a few years.  Coming back, they wrote Home of the Strange. This is their most political album to date, taking on society’s issues through their songs; the musical tones are also probably the darkest Young has produced.  The newest release, 2018’s sparkling Mirror Master is deeply personal, focusing on introspection and how to be a human.

Lead single, “Simplify”, is an earnest love song, bouncy and all-encompassing.  This song captures the plunge from a high point, simultaneously slow motion and high speed, not unlike falling in love.

“Call Me Back” may take you back in time to sitting by a landline, fingers tangled in the phone cord, waiting for your crush to call (and the massive middle school heartbreak when they don’t).  “Oblivion” is a surprisingly hopeful glimpse into the void; Gadhia mentions that, although it’s about facing our greatest fears, it’s also about the liberating unknown.  A particularly self-scrutinizing track, “Glory” looks at all the contradictions that can be found in just one person.  The record bares vulnerability in both quiet moments and its loudest peaks.  In the title track, “Mirror Master”, Young the Giant discusses the duality of 21st-century citizens, and how we all compartmentalize and control ourselves.

Get lost in the kaleidoscope of “Superposition” below.

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