A Love Letter to Gang of Youths

Sourced from Instagram

I spent a lot of time mulling over the subject of my first article. Music is something I’ve never written about, and I commend the other journalists because it's an incredibly difficult task. My first intuition was to find a unique subject to write about, perhaps an underground artist no one has heard of. I was motivated to do so partially because I liked the idea of introducing someone to a new corner of the music world, but mostly in order to prove myself as a music listener. After combing through Spotify, I found that I haven’t dedicated very much space in my playlists to up-and-coming artists or people that no one listens to. Although I would like to say that I appreciate and admire the music produced by a broad range of artists, I’m nobody's superfan. 

My next intuition was to search my Spotistats (the best $8 I’ve ever spent) and unsurprisingly discovered that Gang of Youths was my most listened-to artist. Although they aren’t even remotely underground, I love them. So, my new objective, the ambition of this article if you will, is to proclaim my authentic adoration of a band without the burden of exclusivity.   

Gang of youths, for me, evokes feelings of mid-September. As someone who grew up in a household of footy fanatics (#flagpies) and farmers, mid-September is nostalgic and warm, a time that birthed the majority of my childhood memories. My first run-in with Gang of Youths was around this time in 2013. As was customary in my household, if you had received 100% on your weekly spelling test or moved up a reading level, you had the chance to download a song on Dad’s iPod. On this day, I downloaded Gang of Youths’ first song ‘Evangelist’.                            Image from Instagram

In a perfect world, I would boast that I’ve avidly listened to Gang of Youths since that day, I would brag that I’d been a loyal fan since the release of their very first song. This unfortunately is not the case. I didn’t even know the names of the band members until recently. I rediscovered my fondness for them in 2018 when I heard ‘Magnolia’ on Triple J. My siblings and I were home on one of those North East Victorian winter days when the air is icy but the sun still warms your bones. I would consider it my gateway song and resolutely believe that If you are not yet down bad with love for them, this is a great place to start. 

My two favourite listening spots :)

This time, I developed a mild obsession with their album ‘Go Father in Lightness’, it is concurrently comforting and divine. It was the first time I’d investigated my own taste in music, the first time I’d properly listened to lyrics and resonated with them, the first time I’d been moved by my music. Then another hiatus resumed in 2019 and concluded when I was reunited with their album ‘The Positions’ which is yet another heart-wrenchingly phenomenal artwork. Since this time, Gang of Youths has occupied a comfortable place in my life, I wouldn’t consider it momentous nor grand, but rather ongoing and stable. It’s a love that I haven't shared boisterously because their music feels sentimental and sincere.

I’m not a religious person, but I imagine that the feeling I derive from their music in some way resembles the feeling worship evokes in a zealous churchgoer. I truly believe that their music is broadly relatable while maintaining a purity of intention. It in no way feels manufactured. I candidly hope if you did get to the end of this article, that you take the time to get to know Gang of Youths a little better.

Images from Instagram

Happy listening,

Em x