Kevin Bronson on July 30th, 2010

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Orange County-bred quintet Young the Giant soared onto the SoCal indie-rock landscape in 2008, back when they were called the Jakes. Their new, slightly obtuse moniker aside, the Giants are young – Sameer Gadhia, Jacob Tilley, Eric Cannata,  Payam Doostzadeh and Francois Comtois are all 21 or younger – but their songs brim with grown-up arrangements and grand ambitions. You’re likely to find stinging guitar work and the now-fashionable smorgasboard of beats in the debut album they’ve been working on for the suddenly diversifying Roadrunner Records, known as home to hard rockers such as Slipknot, Nickelback, Megadeth and Killswitch Engage. Young the Giant’s calling card, though, is the arena-sized voice and hunky charm of singer Gadhia. On a label full of shredders, his choruses will do just fine.

||| Download: “My Body”

||| Live: Young the Giant kicks off a five-week residency (co-presented by Buzz Bands LA) at the Troubadour on Sunday, with Eastern Conference Champions opening. Young the Giant is doing two other residencies next month too – they’ll be at the Detroit Bar in Costa Mesa every Wednesday, and at the Casbah in San Diego every Monday (except the 8th).

||| Watch: After the jump, check out the video of the band performing “My Body” live at Sunset Sound.