In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked The Positions at number 89 in their list of the 200 greatest Australian albums of all time. [5] Production and recording [ edit ] Angeles, Jana (18 April 2015). "Album Review: Gang of Youths – The Positions (2015 LP)". The AU Review . Retrieved 12 July 2023. This is inspired by when you went to Samoa, and you had a couple of landmark experiences with your wife, right?

Yeah, I mean, that's how I grew up! Some [punks] might not agree that it's punk because they're too busy listening to music that is insular or whatever... Because punk has been coopted by kids who want to be cool now instead of kids who had no hope of being cool and had to gravitate toward something that... I like to feel that [the album's] in some ways it's just me, and if that's punk then that's great because that's a scene I loved and was raised in. I'm weary of that title as well because with that four letter word comes a whole litany of really bullshitty, arbitrary, cultural distinctions. Brancatisano, Gloria (29 January 2023). "Rolling Stone's 200 Greatest Australian Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone Australia . Retrieved 29 January 2023. This is one of the songs written from your father’s perspective, and it almost seems like an of overture of his life story.

8. “spirit boy”

Despite and indeed because of frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s father’s absence, his influence permeates every talking point that the album offers. At times it’s solely focused upon the precise, personal experiences of loss: 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.

Gang of Youths return with Angel in Realtime. The album is about the life and legacy of Dave's father, indigenous identity, death, grief and God. And also the Angel, Islington.

Tracklist

Interview: Gang Of Youths & Their Debut LP Release". Life Without Andy. 21 April 2015 . Retrieved 12 July 2023. Gang Of Youths Drop 'Poison Drum' Clip And Headline Dates". The Music. 8 July 2014 . Retrieved 13 July 2023. The Positions was recorded over three years, and its sound, according to frontman David Le'aupepe, reflects the struggles he went through in that time: "I went through a marriage breakdown, a suicide attempt, drug problem, and everything during the middle of it so the record reflect a lot of that." He continued: "There’s grime where there should be grime, there’s perfection where there should be perfection." [6] Despite and indeed because of frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s father’s absence, his influence permeates every talking point that the album offers. At times it’s solely focused upon the precise, personal experiences of loss: 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. I know the racial identity themes seem to be involved in this one: “White kids say they sympathize, but they’re afraid to look me in the eye.” This is another one sung as your father?

I’ve used this guideline which is the emotion, the feeling of my father gone. This kind of weltschmerz, anhedonia thing I was going through after he died — nothing really makes sense except watching shit TV and walking along the canal in London. But I guess all the anhedonia and weltschmerz is sort of crystallized. And maybe I was able to move past it because I had this very important powerful experience with this wonderful woman. She performed “rongoā” on me, which is this special, traditional healing process. In that moment being embraced by this kind of otherworldly Māori, deeply Polynesian experience, that sort of broke through to me, I think, more than anything before. And this woman was Christian as well. They synchronize a lot of beliefs. They do match up rather nicely, like I said before. a b Yates, Rod (13 April 2015). "Gang of Youths – The Positions Review". Rolling Stone Australia . Retrieved 28 August 2017. How did you guys meet in New York? And had you already moved to London at the time when you met her? Or how did you end up in London? Gang of Youths upcoming album 'Angel In Realtime.' comes exclusively pressed to double animated zoetrope picture disc LP's via Blood Records. Limited to just 1500 copies and hand-numbered on a first-come-first-served basis the album is about the life and legacy of Dave's father, indigenous identity, death, grief and God... And also the Angel, Islington. When Le’aupepe attempts to make sense not only of his father’s passing but also of his life, he hits his stride. On “tend the garden,” he inhabits his father’s perspective as he moved from Samoa to New Zealand to Australia. “I hope that one day if they find my sons/They’ll tell ’em everything that I’ve become,” he sings, underscored with soulful, Avalanches-style electronic pop. It’s a successful experiment and a rare display of restraint: Unlike some songs, which feel like overstuffed suitcases waiting to burst the minute they hit the baggage carousel, there’s an ease and spaciousness here. Go Farther in Lightness often sounded like a melange of influences done well, but the highlights on angel in realtime. zero in on Gang of Youths’ own territory. That so many songs reference electronic music is smart: Le’aupepe has always moved like a dancer on stage, and he imbues many of his performances here with that graceful quality.following the release of 'let me be clear' which debuted at #2 on the aria album charts, gang of youths went on to release the #1, aria album, 'go farther in lightness,' which went on to win 4 aria awards, including aria album of the year, in 2017. Gang Of Youths Release Video For 'Magnolia' ". Universal Music Publishing Group. 13 August 2015 . Retrieved 13 July 2023. I think it really works to keep this one as minimal as you did. I was stunned to learn that it was five-plus minutes long because it feels so engaging for a song that musically is mostly staying in the same mode. But I think that has a lot to do with the quality of the storytelling that’s happening there. Earp, Joseph (12 July 2023). "Album Review: Gang of Youths – The Positions". Renowned for Sound . Retrieved 12 July 2023. I like the idea also that by kind of just getting it out there that some of the worst choices that your dad made, the idea that you get something out into the light and that’s how you’re able to kind of experience absolution for it.