Gang of Youths return with first song in 4 years, "The Angel of 8th Ave"

Gang of Youths have finally released their first new song in four years, “The Angel of 8th Ave.” The Australian band have always had an anthemic, Springsteen vibe, and as you’d probably expect from a song with a Springsteenian title like “The Angel of 8th Ave,” this one is no exception. Jangly acoustic guitars, ethereal synths, and stadium-sized pomp meet on this heartland rocker, which is as instantly satisfying as the catchiest moments of Go Farther in Lightness. Listen and watch the video below.

Speaking to Zane Lowe on Apple Music 1 about the song, frontman David Le’aupepe said:

So this song, “the angel of 8th ave.,” I started writing this about four years ago and we’ve done 15 versions of it. It’s probably the only song that you’ll hear from us from now that sounds remotely kind of what we sounded like the previous kind of six to eight years that’s intriguing. I mean, part of that’s by design. I think part of it just out of necessity, obviously, because Joji moved back to Sydney, started his record label and do his thing and he was actually the guy who insisted that we hire Tom. So it was kind of like he left and we’re like, we have to kind of reassess how we go about making a sound and being a band and whatever

It’s supposed to kind of feel like a swift energetic, like kind of lightning strike, I think. And I think, I think we wanted those things that had kind of inertia and energy and to have that sensibility. But I think there was kind of a part of us that wanted to still tip the cap to what we’d been for so long, but also gestured to the future and gestures to the sounds that we’re obsessed with gestures to the world that we’re starting to create in this kind of room.

As for when we’re getting a new album, Dave said, “It’s done because the caveat is nothing with me, as Tom [Hobden] has found out in the two years, nothing with me is ever done. We actually scrapped the album twice and restarted.” Tom added, “It’s ready when it’s ready. You know, I’m not, I’m not gonna rush it.”

Gang of Youths also have some festival appearances coming up, including All Points East.