Young the Giant’s newest album, “Mind Over Matter,” is a great listen for people who are already fans and maybe about 10 other people.
“Mind Over Matter” specifically targets people who are fans of indie music and people who like to go sit in on poetry readings.
The album starts out pretty well with “Slow Drive.” The song lasts less than a minute and is basically an introduction to the album. It starts off slow and steady and then starts to become more upbeat toward the end.
“Anagram” has a bit of a pop feel to it, with instrumentals hitting the off beats throughout the song.
The beat slows down a bit during the bridge, but then picks back up shortly after. At points during the song, the vocals almost don’t mesh very well with the song, but for the most part, it’s an enjoyable tune.
“It’s About Time,” rises a bit more in intensity with regard to music and lyrics.
The electric guitar sound is much more prevalent in this song and the lyrics begin saying “All the kids are throwing sticks/ Politics,” so it’s easy to imagine how the rest of the song plays out.
“Crystallized” relaxes the mood, with beach-like musical vibes and a tempo that makes you want to sway.
The album’s first and title track “Mind Over Matter” is one of the album’s more poetic songs.
It’s one of the songs where if you don’t really listen closely to the lyrics, you may not know exactly what it’s talking about, but after a few listens, you’ll start to appreciate the meaning behind it.
“Daydream” has a fun and upbeat intro that will put a smile on your face and make you want to dance.
However, the augmentation of the vocals doesn’t exactly fit the mood of the song at first. It’s only once the pitch gets higher that the vocals fit more with the song.
The augmentation fits a little better later during the song, so maybe at first it’s just an unexpected tone compared to the instrumentals.
“Firelight” brings fans back to the indie sound that Young the Giant made itself famous for.
The instrumentals only include the faint sound of a guitar in the background along with the vocals.
The song, along with other songs on the album, is definitely an acquired taste and will mostly appeal to people who are particularly into the indie music scene.
Others who listen to it probably won’t take the time to analyze the poetic lyrics, as most people who aren’t huge fans usually don’t.
The lyrics in “Camera” are a little more understandable than songs such as “Firelight” and “Mind Over Matter,” but the instrumentals, which sound very much like a church organ, may put listeners to sleep before they get to the more upbeat and syncopated sound at the chorus.
The beat picks up with “In My Home,” which has more of a rock sound than most of the album, but not more so than “It’s About Time.”
“Eros” tricks listeners into thinking that it’ll be a fun upbeat with a quick drumbeat in the first two seconds, but the song can best be described as distracting. There is too much fluctuation with the beat, instrumentals and vocals for the listener to be able to focus on it without getting a headache.
While the final few songs on the album are fun to listen to, they’re not much to remember.
Young the Giant appeals to a very specific audience and chances are, if someone isn’t already a fan of the band before they listen to the album, they won’t make it past the first five songs.
“Mind Over Matter” as a whole definitely appeals to people who are fans of bands such as The National and MGMT.
A few of the songs are enjoyable to people who mainly listen to music outside of the indie music genre, but chances are, they won’t go out of their way to listen to the album.
KHADIJA DJELLOULI
