American Bollywood finds alternative stars Young the Giant four years removed from their last album Mirror Master. It also represents the first for the band since leaving the major record label system. American Bollywood is a different beast than previous albums from the band. There aren't many tracks that are the prototypical singalong "bangers" that people have come to expect with their previous releases of singles like "Cough Syrup" and "My Body".
That doesn't mean there's not a lot to like on American Bollywood. It's just more of a subdued experience (with the exception of "Dollar $tore", which honestly wasn't our favorite track on the album). That said, there are a lot of winners here such as "American Bollywood", "Wake Up", "Insomnia", "The Walk Home", and "I Bite" just to name a few.
The album also sees the band undergoing monumental changes with multiple members of the band becoming fathers and the COVID pandemic. The album also takes into account the multiplicity of experiences that we can endure. Specifically, lead singer Sameer Gadhia speaks to his experience as the son of immigrants. All told, there's a lot to unpack and we think the band balances it fairly well. While American Bollywood may not have the bops that fans have come to expect from the band, it definitely has a crisp and mature sound.
Rating - 4/5