Mind over Matter (Young the Giant album)

The lead single from the album, "It's About Time", was released on October 28, 2013,{{cite web|url=https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/its-about-time-single/id729154788 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103034755/https://itunes.apple.com/us/album/its-about-time-single/id729154788 |url-status=dead |archive-date=November 3, 2013 |title=It's About Time - Single by Young the Giant |publisher=iTunes |accessdate=October 29, 2013}} with an accompanying music video.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DO6LJUyNA0M |title=Young the Giant: It's About Time [OFFICIAL VIDEO] |website=YouTube |date=October 28, 2013 |accessdate=October 29, 2013}} On December 10, 2013, it was followed by the release of the second single, "Crystallized",{{cite web|url=https://www.amazon.com/Crystallized-Young-The-Giant/dp/B00H7K3DNM |title=Crystallized: Young The Giant |publisher=Amazon |accessdate=February 5, 2014}} for which a music video had been released a day earlier.{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zF5uMvCGUCM |title=Young the Giant: Crystallized [OFFICIAL VIDEO] |website=YouTube |date=December 9, 2013 |accessdate=December 9, 2013}}

The album could be streamed for free on iTunes from January 14, 2014, until its official release on January 21, 2014.

{{Album ratings

| MC = 67/100{{cite web|url=http://www.metacritic.com/music/mind-over-matter/young-the-giant |title=Mind Over Matter Reviews |website=Metacritic |accessdate=February 4, 2015}}

| rev1 = AbsolutePunk

| rev1Score = 7/10{{cite web|url=http://www.absolutepunk.net/showthread.php?t=3638321 |title=Young the Giant - Mind Over Matter |website=AbsolutePunk |first=Gregory |last=Robson |date=January 22, 2014 |accessdate=February 5, 2014}}

| rev2 = AllMusic

| rev2Score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/mind-over-matter-mw0002603989 |title=Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant |first=Timothy |last=Monger |website=AllMusic |date=January 24, 2014 |accessdate=February 5, 2014}}

| rev3 = Consequence of Sound

| rev3Score = C−{{cite magazine|url=https://consequence.net/2014/01/album-review-young-the-giant-mind-over-matter/ |title=Album Review: Young the Giant – Mind Over Matter |first=Kristofer |last=Lenzon |magazine=Consequence of Sound |date=January 24, 2014 |accessdate=February 5, 2014}}

| rev4 = Contactmusic

| rev4Score = 2/5{{cite magazine|last=Lai|first=Alex|date=August 12, 2014|url=http://www.contactmusic.com/album-review/young-the-giant-mind-over-matter|title=Young The Giant – Mind Over Matter Album Review|magazine=Contactmusic|accessdate=December 23, 2014}}

| rev5 = The Gazette

| rev5Score = {{rating|4|5}}{{cite web|url=http://blogs.montrealgazette.com/2014/01/19/new-music-review-mind-over-matter-young-the-giant-warner-music-canada/ |first=Bernard |last=Perusse |title=New music review: Mind Over Matter, Young the Giant (Warner Music Canada) |work=The Gazette|location=Montreal |date=January 19, 2014 |accessdate=January 21, 2014}}

| rev6 = Rolling Stone

| rev6Score = {{rating|3|5}}{{cite magazine|last=R. Weingarten |first=Christopher|date=February 21, 2014|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/mind-over-matter-20140221|title=Young The Giant Mind Over Matter Album Review |magazine=Rolling Stone|publisher=Wenner Media|accessdate=December 23, 2014}}

| rev7 = Sputnikmusic

| rev7Score = 3.7/5{{cite web|url=https://www.sputnikmusic.com/review/60629/Young-the-Giant-Mind-Over-Matter/ |title=Review: Young the Giant - Mind Over Matter |website=Sputnikmusic |date=January 21, 2014 |accessdate=January 21, 2014}}

}}

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.

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."

Kristofer Lenzon for Consequence of Sound 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."

{{track listing

| total_length = 52:55

| all_writing = Young the Giant, except "Eros" written by Young the Giant and Justin Meldal-Johnsen

| title1 = Slow Dive

| length1 = 0:47

| title2 = Anagram

| length2 = 4:54

| title3 = It's About Time

| length3 = 3:45

| title4 = Crystallized

| length4 = 4:00

| title5 = Mind over Matter

| length5 = 4:04

| title6 = Daydreamer

| length6 = 3:58

| title7 = Firelight

| length7 = 5:33

| title8 = Camera

| length8 = 5:12

| title9 = In My Home

| length9 = 3:39

| title10 = Eros

| length10 = 4:10

| title11 = Teachers

| length11 = 3:40

| title12 = Waves

| length12 = 4:38

| title13 = Paralysis

| length13 = 4:34

}}

{{col-begin}}

{{col-2}}

;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{{cite web|url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/mind-over-matter-mw0002603989/credits |title=Mind Over Matter - Young the Giant {{!}} Credits |website=AllMusic |accessdate=February 5, 2014}}

• Justin Meldal-Johnsen – acoustic guitar, percussion
• Carlos de la Garza – percussion
• Jessica Ramseier – vocals
• Steven Aho – orchestration
• Roger Joseph Manning, Jr. – conducting, string arrangements

{{col-2}}

;Technical personnel

• 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

{{col-end}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Young the Giant}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:2014 albums

Category:Young the Giant albums

Category:Albums produced by Justin Meldal-Johnsen

Category:Fueled by Ramen albums