Young the Giant

Young the Giant began making broad-based indie rock in Irvine, California, where bandmates Sameer Gadhia (vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Payam Doostzadeh (bass), and François Comtois (drummer) all met each other during high school. The California quintet draw upon the members’ international roots to forge a worldly blend of summery indie pop and anthemic stadium rock.

Originally operating under the moniker the Jakes, the band dove head first into the mainstream in 2010 with the release of their debut self-titled album, Young the Giant, tracking most of the songs at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles.  The album which included the RIAA gold-certified hits “My Body” and “Cough Syrup” achieved international recognition and helped make them both radio and festival faves, with high-profile appearances at Bonnaroo, Austin City Limits, and Lollapalooza, among others.

Sessions for a second full-length recording began in summer 2013. The resulting album, the heavier Mind Over Matter, arrived in January 2014, and fared well enough to reach number seven on Billboard’s Top 200.  In April 2016, they debuted third effort, Home of the Strange, a substantive collection of songs that found the band members shedding light on their shared experience as immigrants or first-generation Americans.

2018 saw the release of their fourth studio album, Mirror Master. a layered meditation on identity in modern life, and an emotionally charged look at the dangers of illusion and possibilities of freedom. A departure from the externally focused Home of the Strange, written entirely before Donald Trump emerged as a presidential candidate — Mirror Master shifts perspective and joins in the post-election reckoning faced by so many Americans. With the release of Mirror Master, Young the Giant hope to offer not only unfettered honesty, but the inspiration and encouragement to help listeners take charge of their own narratives. “If you have control of anything at all, it’s your own reflection, how you treat people and how you walk through this life. Don’t let people feed you what they want you to think. Do what makes you happy, and realize that there’s something beyond that duality of right and left, black and white. The space in-between is infinite.” says Gadhia.

From their fan’s perspective, Mirror Master underscores the uncompromising intensity that’s earned Young the Giant a devoted following and long captivated audiences at their kinetic live shows.