Talk about turning a negative into a positive. When in 2012 David Le’aupepe’s then-wife received the news that the cancer she’d beaten into remission had returned, the singer turned to music as a coping mechanism. Enlisting the help of his best friends, he started writing and recording songs, some of which would end up on Gang of Youths’ debut album, The Positions. At times heartbreaking (“Knuckles White Dry”), at points uplifting (“Magnolia”, easily the most upbeat song you’ll hear about a near-suicide attempt), and always affecting, its 10 songs heralded the arrival of a songwriter who could distil love, hate, life, pain, heartache and joy into a song, and with him a band capable of bringing that vision to life in incendiary fashion. Together they took an album cloaked by the spectre of death and turned it into a celebration of life.
Cleverly contrasting the sarcastic social media presence of frontman and founding member David Le’aupepe, Gang Of Youths debut full-length The Positions is a deadly serious affair, brimming with the pure honesty and emotional weight behind Le’aupepe’s rollercoaster of a relationship with a girl diagnosed with terminal cancer.
Whether it’s the brief but eclectic synth leads of ‘Restraint & Release’ or the subtle orchestral elements of ‘Kansas’, each of the album’s ten tracks bring forth something that make it stand out, all of which are only further accentuated by Le’aupepe’s gloriously diverse vocal range and attention to detail. The Positions is one of the most promising debuts to come out of Australia in a while; not only does each song drive such melody and emotion, but also the dedication and raw talent is simply undeniable
The Fat Angel Sings 