Mind over Matter (Young the Giant album)

Mind over Matter is the second studio album by American alternative rock band Young the Giant. It was produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen, and released on January 21, 2014 through Fueled by Ramen.[1][2] Promoted by the singles "It's About Time" and "Crystallized", the album has received generally favorable reviews from music critics.

Mind over Matter
Studio album by Young the Giant
Released	January 21, 2014 (2014-01-21)
Recorded	February 2012 – January 2014
Genre	Indie rock, alternative rock
Length	52:55
Label	Fueled by Ramen
Producer	Justin Meldal-Johnsen
Young the Giant chronology
Young the Giant (2010) Mind over Matter (2014) Home of the Strange (2016)
Singles from Mind over Matter
"It's About Time" Released: October 28, 2013 "Crystallized" Released: December 10, 2013 "Mind over Matter" Released: May 6, 2014

Promotion

The lead single from the album, "It's About Time", was released on October 28, 2013,[3] together with an accompanying music video.[4] On December 10, 2013, it was followed by the release of the second single, "Crystallized",[5] for which a music video was released a day earlier.[6]

As of 14 January 2014, the album could be streamed for free on iTunes until its official release on January 21, 2014.

Critical reception

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
Metacritic	67/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AbsolutePunk	7/10[8]
AllMusic	[9]
Consequence of Sound	C-[10]
Contactmusic.com	2/5[11]
The Gazette	[12]
Rolling Stone	[13]
Sputnikmusic	3.7/5[14]

Mind over Matter received generally favorable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 67, based on 7 reviews, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[7]

Rating the album three stars out of five, Timothy Monger of AllMusic called the album "an able, straightforward modern indie rock record," and wrote that the band was at its best on some of the lighter songs on the album, such as "Firelight" and "Waves". However, he noted that "the type of mainstream guitar/synth rock Young the Giant pursue is littered with similar acts, making it tough to rise above the din. Comparisons to stadium-filling bands like Coldplay and Phoenix are not out of line, but there is a general lack of distinction to much of the music on Mind over Matter, suggesting that the band still hasn't discovered its defining characteristics."[9]

Consequence of Sound's Kristofer Lenzon wrote that Mind over Matter "documents the metamorphosis of the band from indie darling who could to full-blown arena rock overlords." However, he noted that "all the gloss and shimmer doesn't add to the overall enjoyment of the album, but presents a wavering distraction from the content," and that at times Justin Meldal Johnson's heavy production seems to be trying to compete with the strength of lead singer Sameer Gadhia's vocals: "Virtuosic talents like Gadhia's often sound best when given room to breathe and expand, as on Young the Giant's 'God Made Man' or Mind Over Matter's 'Firelight', where a simple plucked guitar line and atmospheric tones serve as a platform, not competition for Gadhia. The result is the sweetest and most emotionally impactful song on the record. (...) On an album so choked with production, the simplest moment is its most affecting."[10]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Young the Giant, except "Eros" written by Young the Giant and Justin Meldal-Johnsen.

No.	Title	Length
1.	"Slow Dive"	0:47
2.	"Anagram"	4:54
3.	"It's About Time"	3:45
4.	"Crystallized"	4:00
5.	"Mind over Matter"	4:04
6.	"Daydreamer"	3:58
7.	"Firelight"	5:33
8.	"Camera"	5:12
9.	"In My Home"	3:39
10.	"Eros"	4:10
11.	"Teachers"	3:40
12.	"Waves"	4:38
13.	"Paralysis"	4:34
Total length:		52:55

Personnel

Young the Giant Sameer Gadhia – lead and backing vocals, percussion, piano, organ, synthesizer, keyboards Jacob Tilley – guitar, mellotron, synthesizer Eric Cannata – guitar, backing vocals Payam Doostzadeh – bass guitar, synthesizer François Comtois – drums, percussion, backing vocals Additional musicians[15] Justin Meldal-Johnsen – acoustic guitar, percussion Carlos de la Garza – percussion Jessica Ramseier – vocals Steven Aho – orchestration Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – conducting, string arrangements

Technical personnel[15] Justin Meldal-Johnsen – production, engineering, programming Carlos de la Garza – engineering David Schwerkolt – engineering Mike Schuppan – engineering, engineering assistant Dave Schwerkolt – engineering assistant Rich Costey – mixing Martin Cooke – mixing assistant Nicolas Fournier – mixing assistant Bo Hill – mixing assistant Ted Jensen – mastering Mark Obriski – art direction, design Matt Wisniewski – collage, cover collage David Vincent Wolf – photography

Charts

Chart (2014)	Peak position
Canadian Albums (Billboard)[16]	7
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[17]	32
US Billboard 200[18]	7
US Top Rock Albums (Billboard)[19]	2

Singles

Title	Year	Peak chart positions
		US Alt [20]	US Rock [21]
"It's About Time"	2013	2	17
"Crystallized"		35	27
"Mind over Matter"[22]	2014	15	31
"—" denotes release that has not charted.

References

1. "Mind Over Matter CD". store.youngthegiant.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
2. "Mind Over Matter by Young the Giant". iTunes. Archived from the original on December 21, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
3. "It's About Time - Single by Young the Giant". iTunes. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
4. "Young the Giant: It's About Time [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. October 28, 2013. Retrieved October 29, 2013.
5. "Crystallized: Young The Giant". Amazon.com. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
6. "Young the Giant: Crystallized [OFFICIAL VIDEO]". YouTube. December 9, 2013. Retrieved December 9, 2013.
7. "Mind Over Matter Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved February 4, 2015.
8. Robson, Gregory (January 22, 2014). "Young the Giant - Mind Over Matter". AbsolutePunk. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
9. Monger, Timothy (January 24, 2014). "Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
10. Lenzon, Kristofer (January 24, 2014). "Album Review: Young the Giant – Mind Over Matter". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
11. Lai, Alex (August 12, 2014). "Young The Giant – Mind Over Matter Album Review". Contactmusic.com. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
12. Perusse, Bernard (January 19, 2014). "New music review: Mind Over Matter, Young the Giant (Warner Music Canada)". The Gazette. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
13. R. Weingarten, Christopher (February 21, 2014). "Young The Giant Mind Over Matter Album Review". Rolling Stone. Wenner Media. Retrieved December 23, 2014.
14. "Review: Young the Giant - Mind Over Matter". Sputnikmusic. January 21, 2014. Retrieved January 21, 2014.
15. "Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant | Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
16. "Young the Giant Chart History (Canadian Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
17. "Dutchcharts.nl – Young the Giant – Mind over Matter" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved January 26, 2014.
18. "Young the Giant Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
19. "Young The Giant Chart History (Top Rock Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved January 29, 2014.
20. "Young The Giant Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Alternative Songs for Young The Giant. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
21. "Young The Giant Album & Song Chart History". Billboard Rock Songs for Young The Giant. Retrieved February 5, 2014.
22. "Future Releases on Triple A (AAA) Radio Stations". All Access Music Group. Archived from the original on June 21, 2014.