Gang Of Youths, Angel in Realtime Review

Gang Of Youths started out playing tiny Melbourne pubs with only five people in them. However, the band’s energy hit like they were playing to 90,000 screaming fans. “We literally played like we were at Wembley Stadium,” the band later told Rolling Stone. Incapable of not giving every show everything they have, that same early energy has shot Gang Of Youths from pub gigs to the stadiums and arenas. Gang of Youths is Dave Le’aupepe (vocals, guitar), Max Dunn (bass), Jung Kim (guitar, keyboards), Donnie Borzestowski (drums), and Tom Hobden (keyboards, guitar, violin). Gang of Youths are now releasing Angel in Realtime, an album about the life and legacy of Le’aupepe’s father, indigenous identity, death, grief, and God.

Angel in Realtime is thirteen songs informed by Le’aupepe’s father’s absence; his influence permeates every lyric point that the album offers. At times the lyrics solely focus upon the authentic, personal experiences of loss and the dichotomy of intensity and peace that comes as someone passes through their final days; the overwhelming feeling in the wake of their death that life will never be the same, even if the rest of the world at large remains utterly unchanged. Le’aupepe says, “I hope the record stands as a monument to the man my father was and remains long after I’m gone myself. He deserved it.” The album is eclectic in its influences and ranges from American minimalism and contemporary classical, to drawing upon the legacy of Britain’s alternative/indie scenes, from drum ‘n’ bass to the most transcendent moments of Britpop – it’s equally rooted in Le’aupepe’s Samoan heritage, with the majority of the tracks featuring samples from David Fanshawe’s recordings of indigenous music from the Polynesian islands and the wider South Pacific. Angel In Realtime also features contributions from a cast of talented Pasifika and Māori vocalists and instrumentalists. “You in Everything” has a catchy guitar figure supporting moving lyrics and a building song form. Le’aupepe’s vocals are solid in tone and diction, as in “in the Wake of Your Leave,” an upbeat Britpop selection that sounds of all the strengths of Gang Of Youths. “The Angel Of 8th Ave,” tells of falling in love in a new city and making a home in another. “The Man Himself” is a song with sample recordings from the island of Mangaia in the Cook Islands. The island influence works seamlessly with the pop-rock feel and buzz with lyrics about living without the guiding hand of your father. Overall, Angel in Realtime presents thirteen well-written selections that are also produced, recorded, and mixed to form a wonderful whole. This all culminates in a powerful musical journey to explore. That’s the short of it!

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