Alternative folk band Young the Giant have released a new music video for their track “My Way,” and it’s a stunning visual feast. “My Way” is the second single from the band’s forthcoming album American Bollywood – a concept album that tells the multi-generational saga of the American immigrant experience. It’s a timely and relevant story, told through the lens of singer Sameer Gadhia, who is the son of Indian immigrants.
The album is being unveiled in four parts, with “My Way” coming from the second act, ACT II: EXILE. American Bollywood is set for release on October 21 via AWAL/Jungle Youth Records.
Identity is at the core of “My Way” – both in terms of the personal struggles of Gadhia and in terms of the immigrant experience as a whole. In the song, Gadhia sings of feeling like an outsider in both the United States and in India. He yearns for a sense of belonging while dealing with the feeling of being displaced, caught between worlds.
The clip, directed by Tanmay Chowdhary, is a perfect accompaniment to the song’s ethereal sound and themes of exile and identity. Vivid colors and images flash before the viewer, hinting at the duality of Gadhia’s experience. The video is a beautiful, colorful, and culturally rich exploration of what it means to be integrating your heritage into the modern American experience.
Of ACT II: EXILE Gadhia says: “Sometimes exile is external pressure to leave. In the Mahabharata [one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India], the Pandavas are banished from their kingdom after a rigged game of dice.
For the world, our pandemic exile has been a new reality we are still reeling from. We wonder if things will ever go back: if we can unsee what we were forced to in the mirror of isolation.
But for the immigrant, exile is a voluntary sacrifice for opportunity: the loss of homeland is a pining that is always there, even subconsciously in the children of immigrants, whose parents loss is just a formless ghost that causes trauma rippling across generations.”
Young The Giant will be on tour in support of American Bollywood this fall. Tour dates are below. You can check out the video for “My Way” below.
Photo Credit: Stephen Hoffmeister
Young The Giant Fall 2022 Tour:
10/12 – Denver, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre (co-headline with Phantogram)
10/21 – New York City, NY @ Beacon Theatre
10/22 – New York City, NY @ Beacon Theatre *Newly announced
10/27 – Chicago, IL @ Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom
10/29 – Atlanta, GA @ The Fox Theater
11/2 – Los Angeles, CA @ YouTube Theater at Hollywood Park
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