Two years after releasing the hit album “Home of the Strange,” Young the Giant has released its fourth studio album, “Mirror Master.”
In 2011, the Irvine, Calif. ,band’s self-titled debut offered fans of indie rock a handful of top hits, such as “Cough Syrup,” “Apartment” and “My Body.”
Now the band has returned with another album full of 12 new songs.
“Mirror Master” takes a more internal direction than the band’s previous, more politically charged album by focusing on personal struggles with change-evoking, self-reflecting tracks.
Tracks “Oblivion,” “Darkest Shade of Blue” and “You + I” are a bit slower than the rest of the tracks yet still leaves an impression.
The band covers subjects such as loneliness and hopelessness, choosing to tackle and embrace serious topics.
Front man Sameer Gadhia explores his own personal identity in songs such as “Tightrope,” in which he contemplates the ever-changing war and peace in his mind by asking himself, “I don’t know how I ended up so close to where I started. What was it for?”
The album is reflective and its title clearly alludes to that.
In the track “Superposition,” Gadhia sings about a complex law of physics.
Gadhia turns the in-depth concept into a love song with a consistent drum beat, a light ukulele melody and an almost-menacing bass part.
These musical aspects and the lyrics, “In any universe, you are my dark star,” make for a strong album opener.
Each track is individualistic with quality lyricism, which makes the album worth listening to all the way through.
Their staple style is evident but their successful experimentation with genres in “Mirror Master” shows how far they have come as a multi-genre, indie rock band.
