[2][3] After several personnel changes, the group's lineup by 2008 included Gadhia, Tilley, Hashemian, Eric Cannata, Francois Comtois, and Jason Burger.

With two members still in high school and the others each attending different colleges, the Jakes recorded an EP, Shake My Hand, with producer Ian Kirkpatrick.

Burger left the band to pursue an education at Manhattan School of Music in New York City, and Comtois took over as the drummer.

[5] The band's song "Garands At Normandie" was played during an episode of MTV's The Real World: Brooklyn, and "Paid the Piper" was featured on A&E's The Beast.

Young the Giant spent 2010 opening for Minus the Bear and Steel Train while working on their debut album with Joe Chiccarelli at Sunset Sound Studios in Los Angeles.

The band was very vigilant of their tracks but trusted the decisions of Joe Chiccarelli who had previously produced albums for The Shins, The Strokes, and Saints of Valory.

[9] After the band finished recording in early June,[10] they played additional shows with Marina and the Diamonds, The Futureheads, Neon Trees, and New Politics.

[19] The band's first single "My Body" was released to U.S. radio in January and went on to peak at number five on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart.

[20] iTunes offered the song as a weekly free download beginning January 9, and it was featured on an episode of American Idol.

[31] The exposure from the VMA performance propelled Young the Giant onto the Billboard 200 albums chart, where it eventually peaked at number 42.

[32] Sales for "My Body" climbed 220 percent on iTunes, helping the single reach number 65 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

[38] The group performed "Apartment" and "Cough Syrup" on a May episode of NBC's Today, and CNN Newsroom profiled the band a month later.

[39][40] The band released a music video for non-album track "West Virginia" in January 2012 and started their first major headlining tour in February.

[43] Darren Criss' character Blaine Anderson covered "Cough Syrup" on the season three episode of Glee titled "On My Way".

"[46] The next fall the band embarked on a North American Tour starting in South Burlington, Vermont, and ending in Boulder, Colorado.

In 2015, the band released two songs named "Mirrorball" and "Mind Over Matter (Reprise)" exclusively on vinyl for Record Store Day of that year.