{"id":861034,"date":"2026-08-19T17:10:14","date_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:10:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/861034\/"},"modified":"2026-08-19T17:10:14","modified_gmt":"2026-08-19T17:10:14","slug":"gang-of-youths-are-back-does-it-sound-like-a-cynical-gesture-towards-pop-radio-stardom-gang-of-youths","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/861034\/","title":{"rendered":"Gang of Youths are back: \u2018Does it sound like a cynical gesture towards pop radio stardom?\u2019 | Gang of Youths"},"content":{"rendered":"

When tickets for the first Gang of Youths<\/a> shows in Australia in four years went on sale last month, a one-off show in Thirroul sold out in 45 seconds; two shows at Sydney Opera House went in minutes. Though I have loved the band for years, I was surprised by how emotional it was to see them play on home soil again in Sydney. Dave Le\u2019aupepe, who has a claim to being the country\u2019s most charismatic frontman, seemed to sense the mood. \u201cThank you for loving me,\u201d he told the audience. \u201cI know it\u2019s very difficult.\u201d<\/p>\n

As I left the show, bewildered and tearful, I locked eyes with a stranger in the foyer who was also crying. Without saying a word, we both burst out laughing; feeling a bit silly, perhaps, but also a sense of wonder at our shared reaction. I later heard there were two marriage proposals in that audience; I wouldn\u2019t be surprised if there were more.<\/p>\n

I last interviewed Le\u2019aupepe<\/a> in 2021, fresh out of lockdown in London, where Gang of Youths had decamped to en masse to escape their booming fame in Australia which Le\u2019aupepe told me had \u201cfucked me up really badly\u201d. We were speaking ahead of the release of their last album, 2022\u2019s angel in realtime, a grand, maximalist rock album about Le\u2019aupepe\u2019s dead father, his family\u2019s hidden history and his Polynesian heritage. It was laden with emotion, as was Le\u2019aupepe: he spoke with the hard fervour of a preacher, voicing all of his misgivings \u2013 about his voice, their past songs, their albums, their fame.<\/p>\n

But five years later, Le\u2019aupepe looks noticeably relaxed and content; with that head of hair, there is something of a sleepy lion about him. He\u2019s 34 now, and trying to be healthy. \u201cNo booze, no cigs. I fucking hate it,\u201d he says cheerfully. He is also aware of an internal shift. \u201cLast time we spoke, I was fraught because everything had so much fucking meaning \u2013 and it did, I guess,\u201d he smiles. \u201cThe best possible way to be is to not give a fuck.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gang of Youths performing at Sydney Opera House on 8 August. Photograph: Jess Gleeson<\/p>\n

We\u2019re speaking ahead of the release of their first song in four years, a silky three-minute single titled Things Take Time, out on Wednesday. \u201cThere\u2019s heaven in the suburbs,\u201d Le\u2019aupepe croons on the track, which was a test on two fronts: could he, a famously wordy lyricist, write a song that \u201cwasn\u2019t really about anything\u201d, and could he write a pop song? The result is Gang of Youths as you have never heard them before.<\/p>\n

\u201cI need to know \u2013 does it sound like a cynical gesture towards pop radio stardom?\u201d Le\u2019aupepe asks. I don\u2019t think so; it sounds like a happy man in a happy band. \u201cYeah, weirdly,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019m not used to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

While there are plenty of catchy Gang of Youths songs, Le\u2019aupepe had never written a pop song and was curious about the architecture and mechanics of doing so. \u201cI was drawn to the idea of actually writing songs for a change, instead of these fucking moods with a bunch of fucking moody lyrics,\u201d he laughs. \u201cI\u2019m at the stage of my life \u2013 I think we all are \u2013 where we want to make art, not a diary.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo taking all my ideas and lyrical concepts and metaphysical fucking curiosities and condensing that into a three-minute song \u2013 that was my Everest.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018For the first time, I\u2019m not worrying how this will be received\u2019 \u2026 (L-R) Jung Kim, Dave Le\u2019aupepe and Tom Hobden. Photograph: Remi Chauvin\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Things Take Time was inspired by an offhand joke from lead guitarist and keyboardist Jung Kim while they were sitting in one of their back yards: hey Dave, write a song about plants. \u201cI was like, fuck off!\u201d Le\u2019aupepe says \u2013 but then he got to thinking about how they had settled in their respective homes, started families and how their blooming gardens were evidence that they\u2019d finally put down roots. As Le\u2019aupepe puts it, \u201cthe song is about things growing and dying, but also what happens if somebody\u2019s just overwhelmingly OK\u201d.<\/p>\n

Tom Hobden, who plays violin, guitar and keyboards in the band, calls Things Take Time \u201can exercise in restraint\u201d.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a conscious decision not to be so grandiose and actually let Dave\u2019s voice carry the song,\u201d he says, \u201crather than ramming in a gazillion things.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cLook at his fucking smile!\u201d says Le\u2019aupepe.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I am excited about it,\u201d says Hobden. \u201cIt might sound stupid, but I think what\u2019s going to strike people about this record is how much you actually get to sing.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u201cI do a lot of that talking garbage,\u201d Le\u2019aupepe adds \u2013 and while there are plenty of fans of that talking garbage, Le\u2019aupepe has impressive pipes, though he doesn\u2019t know it. \u201cI have always been really fucking self-conscious in my voice. I still really struggle with it. But this was liberating.\u201d<\/p>\n

Things Take Time was recorded in Hobden\u2019s back yard studio in London. \u201cDave would be in there for hours and then come out and everyone would be wondering what he\u2019s building in there,\u201d Hobden says. \u201cAnd then I\u2019d sneak in, open the sessions, and see: take 389. Bloody hell.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI cop all this shit for being a fucking perfectionist, but it\u2019s not a joke. I really struggle with it,\u201d Le\u2019aupepe adds. \u201cBut for the first time, I\u2019m not worrying how this will be received. Will people like it? Will we be able to do X, Y, Z? That\u2019s not really part of the equation for me any more.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018We just want zen these days\u2019 \u2026 Tom Hobden, Jung Kim and Dave Le\u2019aupepe. Photograph: Remi Chauvin\/The Guardian<\/p>\n

Le\u2019aupepe made a 300-track playlist for the band spanning their bedrock \u2013 Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, Godspeed You! Black Emperor, Bruce Springsteen, Nick Cave, The Go-Betweens \u2013 and some surprises. \u201cI made everyone listen to bloody Perry Como over and over again,\u201d Le\u2019aupepe says. \u201cYo La Tengo, Warren Zevon, Glen Campbell \u2013 Wichita Lineman is the greatest fucking song ever written. How do cunts come up with something so miraculous?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe just want zen these days,\u201d Kim adds. \u201cWe\u2019re not as self-conscious about what our output is. Like, we played the Bloodhound Gang in the studio! It is liberating to not be overly shy about what you genuinely enjoy.\u201d<\/p>\n

The band \u201cwent down a rabbit hole trying to find a sound that was simpler so that I could sing,\u201d Le\u2019aupepe says, and shed the baggage of what Gang Of Youths should sound like along the way. The result is \u201cthe most fun I\u2019ve ever had doing a record,\u201d he says. \u201cWe loved each other, and we loved it. Being in that studio felt fucking sacred.\u201d<\/p>\n

This doesn\u2019t seem to be a one off either; the band played three new songs at that equally sacred Opera House show. And as Le\u2019aupepe told that ecstatic crowd: \u201cYou\u2019ll have to come back and see us next year \u2026\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When tickets for the first Gang of Youths shows in Australia in four years went on sale last…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":861035,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[64,63,134],"class_list":["post-861034","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-entertainment","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-entertainment"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861034","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=861034"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/861034\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/861035"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=861034"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=861034"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=861034"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}