Album Review: How to be a ‘Mirror Master’ with Young the Giant

Young the Giant gets vulnerable in their new album focusing on love and self-reflection.

By Kris Maxymillian

Photo courtesy of Graham Fielder

Young the Giant’s Mirror Master is just what everyone was waiting for. The group known for their outstanding instrumental work on their past hit “Cough Syrup” and lead singer Sameer Gadhia’s angelic falsetto brings it all back for the band’s fourth full-length album.

Teasing the release of Mirror Master was the first single, “Simplify.” It has the bass and guitar work to bring you back to the brilliance of their previous album, Home of the Strange. Like the song title suggests, the song is simple, but within the simplicity is the overlooked message of the song — love should be effortless.

Shortly after the release of “Simplify” came the single “Superposition” at the end of August, keeping fans on their toes. From the beginning of the track when the string riff starts, the listener is immediately roped in. The band’s ability to blend so many different instruments together creates a sound like a soft wave hitting the surface of a beach, where Gadhia’s voice is the bird gently gliding over. In other words, their sound is beyond astonishing and evokes the same tranquility as a blissful summer day.

Then just as the summer came to a close, Young the Giant blessed us with their third single, “Heat of the Summer.” The song holds an indie pop melody that you’ll find yourself humming throughout the day.

A week before the album’s official drop, the band released their fourth and final single, “Call Me Back.” Out of all the singles released, this one best represents  the new themes and sounds that Young the Giant explores in their new album. While it still holds all the elements that brought Young the Giant to fame, like the killer bass line and So-Cal vibe, they follow the lead of the great artists before them and evolve their sound as time passes. Young the Giant has always expressed strong opinions in their music, especially political songs such as “Amerika” and “Oblivion”. In this album, we see a more personal and relatable side of Young the Giant — many songs focus on love and self-reflection like “Brother’s Keeper.”

Mirror Master cover art. Image courtesy of Elektra Records

The tracklist of Mirror Master holds some hidden gems. “Tightrope”sounds like Michael Jackson’s “Bad” transposed into an indie rock anthem. It’s the song you strut down the street to, feeling untouchable. The album then rotates a full 180 degrees with “Panoramic Girl” where you find the band’s beloved light and soft sound, as well as their versatility. While the songwriting is elementary, the delivery of the song with the array of sounds from guitar to synthesizer to Gadhia’s trademark croon will nonetheless make you want to dance in slow motion and forget your worries.

We also see the band delve into new territory with the song “Darkest Shade of Blue.” While the song only lasts a short two minutes, we see Young the Giant dabble into the iridescent sound found in their previous song “Mirrorball.” The song showcases the uniqueness of the band’s sound. Since their first album, the members of Young the Giant have always tried to incorporate their cultural roots into their music. This has given them a worldly sound, especially due to the elements of Indian and Middle Eastern music in their instrumental work. They use chromatic scales with augmented half steps that catch your ear with tonal contrast to Western music.

Another song on Mirror Master that highlights the band’s new sound is “Brother’s Keeper.” It starts off with the most relatable line “Some days, I won’t get out of bed” but then takes you on a trip you wouldn’t expect. Besides the catchy rhythm of the bass and melody, the song is heavy with Gadhia’s lower vocal range in the verses which creates the introspective and brooding mood.

This 45 minute masterpiece closes with the upbeat title track “Mirror Master.” It brings back the melodies of their debut album but with a twist. The bright guitar and drums paint a happy backdrop of thousands of fans jumping around and singing at a music festival as their favorite band closes their set.

Young the Giant’s Mirror Master is a work that focuses on the little moments of everyday life. This album explores the vulnerability of being in love and dissects the struggles of being alive.