Gang Of Youths have shared a stripped-back version of their recent single ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’, performed live by frontman Dave Le’aupepe on a wooden piano.
The track’s emotive sentiment is amplified by the new version’s bold, analogue instrumentation and raw production, with the sounds of Le’aupepe’s seat creaking and the click track bleeding from his headphones left intact. Le’aupepe’s performance is emphatically impassioned, too, straining his face as he yells the track’s refrain: “Oh, there’s heaven in you now.”
Watch the Emile Frederick-directed video of Le’aupepe performing ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ below:
‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ was released as a single back in June, landing as Gang Of Youths’ first new material since the 2017 release of their second album, ‘Go Father In Lightness’.
Speaking to NME upon the track’s release, Le’aupepe said ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ was “about falling in love and finding a place in a new city with that person”, noting that while it’s based on his own relationship, the band “wanted it to feel like a more broad spectrum of love and the two major cities that played a big part in mine and my wife’s life”.
“There’s always going to be poetry with love in the big city,” Le’aupepe continued, “and the metropolis is like a microcosm for a global human experience no matter where.”
‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ was followed in July with a surprise EP titled ‘Total Serene’, featuring new single ‘Unison’ and a breezy, slow-burning take on the 2002 Elbow cut ‘Asleep In The Back’. A film clip for ‘Unison’ was also shared in July.
Gang Of Youths are currently working on their third studio album, set to feature a guest spot from Formula One driver Daniel Ricciardo. At their recent live shows in the UK – including an appearance at the All Points East festival earlier this month – the band have been performing an additional two new tracks, ‘Brothers’ and ‘The Man Himself’.
The post Listen to Gang Of Youths’ haunting piano version of ‘The Angel Of 8th Ave.’ appeared first on NME.
