Young the Giant, formed back in 2004 and signed in 2009, released their self titled album one day before my birthday on October 26th 2010. From Irvine, California, the Orange County 5 piece alternative indie-rock band really deserved more credit for their album.

First of all, vocalist Sameer Gadhia has a beautiful voice; husky and strong. But he uses it in such ways that give the softest, relaxed and warming effect. The other four members have managed to create an overall summery album, yet it manages to cover my taste for the whole year, with specific songs that reach out to different seasons. It’s wonderful how the guitarists can create such beautiful, light hearted melodies in songs such as ‘Apartment’ and ‘Strings’, compared to the stronger, and more ‘rocky’ sounds in ‘My Body’ and ‘St Walker’.

Secondly, Morrissey, the strongly opinionated and musical legend of some kind stated that: “I will be kneeling with gratitude on a hardwood floor for many years to come. It is the whole thing … it is the perfect tone … and Sameer’s voice is unbreakable. “. Rightly so! Young the Giant have supported both Marina and the Diamonds, and The Futureheads. Both big and relatively current too. But do you hear that Young the Giant ‘were awesome and that you are going to go and check out their album?’ No. But the answer should be yes, because their album is SO underrated!

‘Apartment’ is their most recent single, with a lovely video to accompany it, with warm hearted celebrations throughout. This is definitely one of my favourites off the album, although I think I prefer the ‘Open Session’ version, where Sameer and co are stood on a misty mountaintop, playing this song in the middle of nowhere. This may seem strange, but it makes their album seem so much more deep and visual, as when I listen to Apartment, the soft vocals of Sameer shine through, and I can just picture the band stood on a misty mountain top, performing passionately and faultlessly!

My second favourite track is ‘Strings’. This song is amazingly summery, and really gives off a chilled vibe. I’ve had this album since 2010, and i’m still not bored of this song, it’s one of those ‘listen to again and again’ songs. The beautiful ‘symphony’ of guitars teamed withSameer’s soft and sweet vocals create a wonderful atmosphere in the room it’s played in. The chorus consists of light harmonies that really strengthen and emphasize the chilled, dreamy feel to this track.

I just really wanted to emphasize how good this album is compared to the little amount of credit I have seen them gain. The whole album is balanced beautifully; the melodies never overrule the vocals, and vice-versa. The way that the album is composed makes everything fit like jigsaw pieces; next to perfect! I can do nothing more than hope that this article has persuaded many people to go and give it a first listen, or even a second one, to try and twist your opinions in favour of this wonderful band.