“Land of the free, home of the strange/ From shining sea to mountains grey/ From emperor waves of fame, I will not change” is the chorus of Young the Giant’s title track in their newest album, Home of the Strange.

Infamous for their song “Cough Syrup” from their 2011 album, Young the Giant’s Home of the Strange is significantly different than their other albums. Not only is the overall sound of the album different from Young the Giant’s two other albums, but its immigrant theme is making a political statement so necessary for what is happening in today’s society.

Immigration is a topic on everyone’s tongue and the topic is clearly not foreign to the members of Young the Giant. Frontman Sameer Gadhia’s parents are Indian immigrants while drummer Francois Comtois is from Quebec, and bassist Payam Doostzadeh is Persian-American. In an interview with Rolling Stone about Home of the Strange, Gadhia stated, “We wanted to say more about who we are – we’re all first-generation Americans or immigrants ourselves.”

The eleven tracks of Home of the Strange do just that. With each song comes a message given to its audience about identity, freedom, sense of belonging, and so on. When asked if Young the Giant is a “political band” or as a “personal is political” band, Gadhia answered, “I see us as a personally political band…We have strong beliefs, and now more so than ever, we’re talking about human rights. Our main thing is about equality. It’s a humanitarian issue; it’s not a political issue. So we’re comfortable going forward on this path; we have the platform and an open line of dialogue with our fans, some of whom are completely unaware of the racial struggles in America, or the racial struggles that we deal with on a personal level. I think that’s a very powerful, important thing. The thing about music is that it really can bring people together, and that’s what we hope we can do.”

The recent release of Home of the Strange couldn’t have arrived at a more perfect time. The Home of the Strange tour is occurring at the height of the presidential election. For example, one Chicago show is scheduled for November 4th- just four days away from the election.  With the presidential election on everyone’s minds, the album makes known the topic of immigration- a topic many people tend to avoid in conversation, but our political candidates have strong opinions about. Along with the election, the Syrian refugee crisis and racial discrimination have been current issues that easily relate to Young the Giant’s recent album.

In the song “Amerika,” which was inspired by Franz Kafka’s piece, Gadhia sings the final words, “Always talking about one day in Amerika/ It’s the same story/ You want glory son/ In Amerika! In Amerika! In Amerika!” “Amerika” speaks of how the goal of an immigrant coming to the United States is to feel the sense of belonging. However, Gadhia stated in his interview with Rolling Stones, “[that] every now and then, you realize how far away you are and how different you are from other people. That’s something that you should be proud of, and always represent, as opposed to trying to forget, instead of pushing away.”

“Amerika” gives those born and raised in the United States, who have no idea the trial and tribulations of immigrants the ideas of what freedom, and identity would feel like to those not born and raised in the America. In general, all of Home of the Strange covers a topic society needs to talk about. Home of the Strange is a gateway for people of different backgrounds to join together and finally understand each other.

Gadhia mentioned in his Rolling Stones interview that “Home of the Strange” is the “immigrants’ America.” Gadhia continued, “I think [America is] a unique place, because you have to struggle to find a place where you can belong, and where you don’t whitewash or bleach out your heritage and your culture.” Commenting on his overall position on the United States, Gadhia states, “There’s something amazingly beautiful and bizarre and grotesque and great about America that’s unlike any other place.”

Home of the Strange is available on Itunes, Google Play, Amazon Music, and Spotify. You can still grab tickets for shows at youngthegiant.com.