Introducing… Young The Giant
Introducing... — By Andrew Evans on 21/02/12
“For better or for worse we really don’t take anything for granted…” Sameer Gadhia – Young The Giant.
Whether its the beaches, the sunshine, the shadow of the Hollywood sign or just something they put in the water, there is no denying that California bands usually sound very, er, Californian. That is to say whether it plays out within the lo-fi fuzz of chillwave or the taught urgency of post-punk, there is usually plenty of primary colour involved. Bright swathes of the stuff. Orange County five-piece Young The Giant sound very Californian.
Meeting at high school and now in their early twenties, their brand of laidback guitar-pop is indebted to long days at the beach and the sound of waves crashing. After a promising early EP their debut full-length – released last year and produced by Joe Chiccarell (The White Stripes, My Morning Jacket) – is a chock-full of summery, uptempo toe-tappers.
Future UK festival anthem in waiting My Body sounds like a bouncier, poppier cousin to touring buddies Kings of Leon’s Black Thumbnail, while the anthemic Cough Syrup, with its soaring chorus and chiming guitar, edges towards what Coldplay would sound like if they turned everything up and stopped worrying.
Boasting a pure Americana sound that belies their diverse backgrounds – Indian, Persian, British and French-Canadian among them – and signed to a subsidary of Warner Music Group there is no denying that big things are expected. But with singer Sameer Gadhia’s voice more than capable of filling even the vastest arenas, there is no denying they are band that would sound fantastic in bigger spaces. Not that Gadhia would admit it, recently telling Paste Magazine of their rise to fame so far: “For better or for worse we really don’t take anything for granted.”
About to embark on sold-out tour of the States it may be some time before they venture back over to the UK, possibly when armed with second record once they head back into the studio this September after a no-doubt successful festival run.
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