I’m going to level with you—I don’t necessarily equate pop music with depth in the lyrics department. “But Susan,” you may be asking, “What do you mean?” Well, beloved readers, put your kickstands down, and slide over here for a hot minute.
Pop-rock outift Young The Giant defies any and all preconceived notions I may have about the genre. Actually, it’s like they faced those preconceived notions in a wrestling ring, climbed the ropes, and dropped a great big People’s Elbow right on top of those silly stereotypes with their delicious new album, Home Of The Strange, set for release on August 12th via Fueled By Ramen.
In fact, not only are Young The Giant’s lyrics substantively intelligent and expressive, they’ve elevated singular words themselves to the remarkably poetic—golden-voiced frontman Sameer Gadhia’s ability to turn the word “dancefloor” into a seven-syllable sonic stimulant in “Elsewhere”, his anthemic and fist pump-inducing interjection of the word “rainwater” in “Titus Was Born”, and the naughty way he pronounces “silvertongue” in the song of the same name gives my goosebumps goosebumps. Musically, the album is on point; the band has made each track distinctly different and fresh without neglecting their signature body-rocking style.
The album is bookended with tracks presenting clever and timely messages; the delicately dreamy, bell-driven introduction of album opener, “Amerika”, awakens us to the dawn of our listening experience—while it appears to encompass the disappointment from a one-sided relationship, this writer interprets it as a shallow and unsatisfactory connection, or lack thereof, with our country. In pulsating album closer and title track “Home Of The Strange”, Gadhia sings “Land of the free, home of the strange/From shining sea to mountains gray… I crave your wonder/I shout your name…Let me live in the moment/Let freedom be”—and together, we celebrate our collective eccentricities and the victorious conclusion of yet another brilliant effort from Young The Giant.
Purchase Home Of The Strange: https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/home-of-the-strange/id1107244888
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