{"id":647080,"date":"2026-05-04T11:46:26","date_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:46:26","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/647080\/"},"modified":"2026-05-04T11:46:26","modified_gmt":"2026-05-04T11:46:26","slug":"album-review-young-the-giant-revisit-their-roots-on-victory-garden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/647080\/","title":{"rendered":"Album Review: Young The Giant revisit their roots on Victory Garden"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Californian Indie rock band Young The Giant return with their fifth studio album, Victory Garden, and it feels like they\u2019re deliberately revisiting their roots. Following their ambitious 2022 concept album, American Bollywood, this record trades conceptual scope for a more familiar sound. Across the 11 tracks, they lean fully into the breezy indie rock sound that defined their earlier work in the mid-2000s and early 2010s. It\u2019s light on its feet and an easy listen, though that same comfort sometimes makes it feel a little too safe and even dated.<\/p>\n

The opening stretch sets the tone clearly, and right from the start, we have numerous garden analogies. \u201cEvergreen\u201d arrives with a distinctly mid-2010s sound, warm and optimistic. I didn\u2019t immediately love it, but it did grow on me. The a cappella moment toward the end is a lovely highlight. \u201cDifferent Kind Of Love,\u201d one of the lead singles, is an obvious standout. It balances the line between rock ballad and polished pop, with a catchy melody and heartfelt lyrics. \u201cBitter Fruit\u201d rounds out this section and shifts the sound ever so slightly, introducing a little bit of a groovy, off-kilter rhythm. It\u2019s got a bit of stomp-clap-hey energy, which isn\u2019t for everyone.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

The middle of the record brings a little more emotional weight. \u201cAlready There\u201d has an urgent, desperate vocal delivery that feels restless and yearning, like the tail end of a long night. \u201cShips Passing\u201d follows with a softer, more nostalgic tone that\u2019s reminiscent of an 80s ballad. It\u2019s pleasant, though the lyrical approach feels a little on the nose, taking some of the impact away. \u201cThis Too Shall Pass\u201d is a memorable deeper cut, with a gentle build and really strong harmonies. It has elements of Mumford and Sons, again leaning into that early 2010s indie-folk crossover wave.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n

Things become a little weird in the latter half. \u201cMona Lisa\u201d is trying to go for something playful and offbeat, with bright piano and a theatrical feel with plenty of \u2018La la la\u2019s, but it falls flat. I can definitely appreciate them doing something a little unexpected, but it just feels so dated and not in a nostalgic way. \u201cGod As A Witness\u201d delivers a jangly, echoey sound that nods again to 80s influences. It\u2019s perfectly listenable, but not particularly memorable. \u201cAre You With Me?\u201d Picks things up again slightly, channelling some sharper indie rock energy, especially in the chorus, which pays off. This one was a standout as far as non-singles go.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe Garden\u201d fully embraces the garden theme again and delivers a sincere, folk-tinged ballad that feels like their earlier work. It\u2019s effective and arguably would have made a stronger closer. Instead, the album ends on a brief, piano-led track that feels like an epilogue as opposed to an epic finale. It wraps things up enough, but lacks the sense of emotional release or scale I typically look for in a closing track.<\/p>\n

Victory Garden is a mixed but approachable listen. There is definitely a charm in the mid 2000s sound, but at the same time, that reliance on nostalgia makes the album feel out of step with where the genre has moved. There are highlights, particularly the singles but a few deeper cuts like \u201cThis Too Shall Pass\u201d, \u201cAlready There\u201d and \u201cThe Garden\u201d. The musicianship and vocal delivery are solid throughout, but overall, it just doesn\u2019t quite come together in a way that invites repeated returns. Fans of this era and sound will likely find a lot to love about this record, even if it doesn\u2019t fully land for everyone.<\/p>\n

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\nTWO AND A HALF STARS (OUT OF FIVE)<\/p>\n

Victory Garden from Young The Giant is out now- listen to it HERE<\/a><\/p>\n


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