Gang of Youths sign with Warner Records and Share New Single “the angel of 8th ave.”
Photo Credit: Amy Heycock
Indie-Rock band Gang of Youths was formed in Sydney, Australia in 2011 and within months of being formed they had started to attract a rabid fanbase enraptured by their expansive, widescreen take on the genre. They honed their sound over two records, 2015’s The Positions and 2017’s Go Farther In Lightness, the latter winning four prestigious ARIA Awards, including Album of the Year and Best Group.
Having relocated from Australia to the U.K. in 2016, Gang of Youths has had to redefine their creative process and evolve their sound as they look to make their boldest statement to date with their latest release in 4 years, “the angel of 8th ave.”
Photo Credit: Mark Nolan
“the angel of 8th ave.” is a striking step forward for the band, following the success of their 2017 LP Go Farther In Lightness, as they embark upon the most vital phase of their career so far, including a signing with Warner Records. This time they’re channelling the musical lineage of their new life in London, drawing on the hypnotic, motor grooves of Joy Division and the luminous synths that embody classic New Order.
Max Dunn (bass), Jung Kim (guitar, keyboards), Donnie Borzestowski (drums), Tom Hobden (keyboards, guitar, violin), and Dave Le’aupepe (vocals, guitar) are now making a fresh start, with music that’s heavily inspired by their new life.
“It’s about falling in love, and finding a new life in a new city together.”
The track is also a representation of the shift in Le’aupepe’s lyrical approach. His focus now falls on exposing the beauty and elegance of conversational language in a song about the grandest of emotions. Simultaneously, it is still both poetic and intensely real. His opening words hone sharply in on a moment that changed the direction of his life, while the spectre of death conversely provides a glimpse of a brighter future.
Entirely self-produced, the track was recorded in their own studio, a place which provides them with unlimited creative freedom. It was subsequently mixed by the Grammy Award-winning Craig Silver (Arcade Fire, The National).
Directed by Joel Barney, the song’s accompanying video was filmed in the band’s neighborhood of Angel, North London. The focal point is a tight close-up of Le’aupepe’s hugely charismatic performance, as the band dart from the bustle of the station to the relative desolation of the canal.