I often feel a little out of step with the rest of the music-buying public. I’m always excited when an Aussie act tops the chart, but it’s rarely what I happen to be listening to at the time. However, I’ve been listening to an advance stream of Gang of Youths’ Go Farther in Lightness for the last couple of weeks now. So when I saw the album at number one this week, there was a little added satisfaction.
I’m thrilled to see this album doing so well because it’s so very good. It’s ambitious, as the best albums tend to be. At 16 tracks, it’s a lot to digest. That’s my excuse for not writing about it until now. It took me that long to gather my thoughts and put them together into something legible. Because this album really is a trip. Few other records would be brave enough to open with a song like “Fear and Trembling,” which starts as a simple, stripped back piano ballad before building into a fists-in-the-air piece of power-rock. But that really sets the tone for what this collection of music is all about.
Gang of Youths is so good at making those bold, confident rock songs, but there’s so much more to this band. Just when you start thinking you’ve got things figured out, the album throws you a curveball like the classically-inspired instrumental “Le Symbolique” or the epic ode “Achilles Come Down.” Introspective ballads like “Persevere” and the poignant title track also give you time to catch your breath after some of the high-octane rock songs. Your only choice is really to hang on as the band twists and turns.
An album so eclectic could easily become muddled or lack coherency, but somehow Go Farther in Lightness all works. It shows Gang of Youths to be one of the most exciting bands in Australian music today. See them at the following shows in Australia and abroad.
1 September 2017 – The Tivoli, Brisbane (SOLD OUT)
6 September 2017 – Festival Hall, Melbourne (ALL AGES)
8 September 2017 – Hordern Pavilion, Sydney (ALL AGES)
13 September 2017 – Odeon Theatre, Hobart (ALL AGES)
15 September 2017 – Thebarton Theatre, Adelaide (ALL AGES)
16 September 2017 – Metropolis Fremantle, Fremantle
9 October 2017 – La Boule Noire, Paris
10 October 2017 – Sugar Factory, Amsterdam
11 October 2017 – Musik & Frieden, Berlin
12 October 2017 – Ampere, Munich
13 October 2017 – Artheater, Cologne
15 October 2017 – Exchange, Bristol
16 October 2017 – Headrow House, Leeds
17 October 2017 – Stereo, Glasgow
18 October 2017 – Gullivers, Manchester
19 October 2017 – Electric Ballroom, London
Image used with permission from Sony Music Australia/Verge