Gang of Youths, Casual Male

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Ed Cooke

Gang of Youths will play the Majestic Theatre on April 21.

This is the Aussie group's first visit to Madison, and the audience should expect a high-energy, uplifting rock performance, as the band has always embraced emotion and lead singer David Le’aupepe has always worn his heart on his sleeve. They're touring the U.S. in support of their third studio album, Angel in Realtime, a 13-track tribute to Le’aupepe’s late father and the band's most ambitious and personal album to date. With Casual Male. Read Stephen Coss' show preview here.

$30 ($25 adv.).

media release: Gang of Youths have released their new album angel in realtime. in the U.S. via Warner Records. The album’s release caps a remarkable few months for the band. Highlights have included the top 10 U.S. radio hit “the angel of 8th ave.” and a performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Gang of Youths will support the album in North America with two runs of tour dates, the first beginning April 21 in Madison and the second kicking off Sept. 13 in Milwaukee.

Inspired by the loss of frontman Dave Le’aupepe’s father, angel in realtime. is a record which channels its emotional intensity and existential questions into an exploratory sonic tapestry that touches upon everything from Britpop and post-punk to American minimalism and contemporary classical.

The album features all the big moments that have soundtracked Gang of Youths’ rise, including  “the angel of 8th ave.”, “unison”, “the man himself”, “tend the garden” and “in the wake of your leave.” The album’s previously unreleased tracks provide plenty more, with an experimental hybrid of contemporary American minimalism, and electronica on “you in everything”, the 2-step and big beat rhythms of “the kingdom is within you”, and the cathartic conclusion provided by the sweeping, multi-textured “goal of the century”.

New single “spirit boy” is the beating heart of angel in realtime. The song features Shane McLean, a musician specialising in Taonga Pūoro (the traditional instrumentation and music culture of the Māori people) and contributes spoken word. Le’aupepe recalls:

“We were fortunate to have Shane McLean, an outstanding musician and Taonga Pūoro facilitator, write and perform a spoken verse in Te Reo Māori. A wonderful Māori woman performed ‘rongoā’ on me — a sacred healing practice. It was a transformative experience, and I’m still not quite sure why. There was a moment when this wonderful woman looked at me and said ‘you’re a wairua boy’ — wairua in Te Reo means something like ‘spirit’.”

Dave Le’aupepe has channelled every drop of emotion into Gang of Youths’ most personal album to date. For the band, which features multi-instrumentalists Jung Kim, Tom Hobden, Max Dunn and Donnie Borzestowski, the decision to rent an old warehouse space in London and self-produce the record was absolutely vital.

The record also pays tribute to Le’aupepe’s family heritage, firstly with the band’s pre-pandemic trip to Aotearoa to record with Pasifika and Māori instrumentalists the Anuanua Drummers from the Cook Islands, Shane McClean and the Auckland Gospel Choir. These recordings, together with the extensive sampling of composer and explorer David Fanshawe’s late 1970s field recordings of indigenous Pasifika music give the record a distinctive sense of time and place. When you add to this the 42-piece string section Hobden and Le’aupepe travelled to Budapest to record, the album effectively spans 50 years of collective recording and as many as seven countries.

angel in realtime. is available to buy here. A beautifully animated zoetrope vinyl format of the album sold-out within days, but collectors and hardcore fans can still grab editions including a double-white vinyl with an alternate sleeve from key indie stores, or a selection of bundles and merch which are packaged with a signed art card.

“Brimming with optimism, guts and heart" - BILLBOARD

“A loving tribute to the confusion that arises in the wake of death." - PASTE MAGAZINE

“The most powerful songwriting yet from the rock band, which is clearly operating at its peak." SF CHRONICLE

"Astonishing....their most majestic LP yet" - UPROXX

"A 77-minute maximalist rock opus...It’s their best record yet. One that sets them up for greater success to come." - SPIN