Angel in Realtime

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Angel in Realtime
Gang of Youths - Angel in Realtime.png
Studio album by
Gang of Youths
Released25 February 2022
Genre
Length67:03
Label
Producer
Gang of Youths chronology
Total Serene
(2021) 		Angel in Realtime
(2022)
Singles from Angel in Realtime
  1. "The Man Himself"
    Released: 7 October 2021[1]
  2. "Tend the Garden"
    Released: 10 November 2021[2]
  3. "In the Wake of Your Leave"
    Released: 7 January 2022[3]
  4. "Spirit Boy"
    Released: 23 February 2022[4]

Angel in Realtime (stylised angel in realtime.) is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Gang of Youths. It was released on 25 February 2022.[2] The album will be supported by a world tour commencing in Dublin on 3 March 2022.[2]

Announced in a tweet from November 2021,[5] the band said the album will be about "the life and legacy of Dave [Le'aupepe]'s father, indigenous identity, death, grief and God. And also the Angel, Islington."[6]

Singles[]

"The Man Himself" was released as the album's lead single on 7 October 2021, which lyrically finds Le'aupepe reckoning with the death of his father.[1] "Tend the Garden" was released on 10 November 2021, alongside the album and world tour announcements.[2]

"In the Wake of Your Leave" was released on 7 January 2022, featuring backing harmonies from the Auckland Gospel Choir and percussion by a number of drummers from the Cook Islands.[3] A music video for the song premiered two weeks later.[7] When writing, Le'aupepe said "I wanted to reflect on how I became dependent on grief for solace and inspiration. The cycle from numbness to acceptance to yearning plays a role in my approach to grieving my dad’s death."[8]

On 22 February 2022, three days before the album's scheduled release, fourth single "Spirit Boy" was released.[9]

The album also includes singles "The Angel of 8th Ave." and "Unison" from the EP, Total Serene.

Two songs from the album were featured in the Triple J Hottest 100 2021 countdown – "The Man Himself" at number 57 and "The Angel of 8th Ave." at number 6.

Critical reception[]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic76/100[10]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[11]
Dork[12]
Exclaim!9/10[13]
The Guardian[14]
Pitchfork6.8/10[15]
Riff Magazine10/10[16]
NME[17]

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised score out of 100 to ratings from publications, the album received an average score of 76 based on 6 reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews".[10]

In January, BBC Radio 1's Greg James named "In the Wake of Your Leave" in the station's 'Tune of the Week' list.[18][19] Australian radio station Triple M wrote the song has a "affirming, whole-hearted passion – from its exuberant rush to its bright, colossal melodies and its addictive, radio-friendly hook."[20]

Ben Schultz of Riff Magazine gave the album a 10 out of 10, calling it "deeply personal yet all-embracing in spirit" and being an "early contender for best album of the year".[16] Josh Williams of Dork described the album as "a truly great record that doesn’t hold back on its emotions or its storytelling", scoring it four stars out of five.[12]

Adam Feibel of Exclaim! praised Le'aupepe's storytelling, calling the album a "profoundly beautiful, meaningful album from a band that has decided that every record might as well be a new magnum opus".[13] The Guardian's Bernard Zuel was more critical, writing "for much of the album, air to breathe is rare", but praised its lyricism and how "it is not a coincidence that the special moments on Angel in Realtime are the ones that best match the album’s particularly personal story".[14]

Shaad D'Souza for Pitchfork also critiqued the album's tightness, writing it is "occasionally so dense that it's hard to listen to, with layers of interesting ideas compounded to something impenetrable" – also finding fault with its 67-minute duration – however praised its presentation, "written and performed with such vigor and charm that it’s hard not to get swept up in it".[15]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Matt Collar also commended its lyrical content; "Le'aupepe delves into the personal trauma, tenuous familial relationships, and eventual reconciliations that came in the wake of his father's choices. It's a deeply personal and autobiographical album, but one filled with a universally relatable emotionality."[11]

Rhys Buchanan from NME said "Not only does Angel in Realtime serve as a soul-stirring tribute to Le'aupepe’s late father, but it's also a triumphant exploration of love and life. Though these indie rock grounds have been explored before, by being brutally honest through the healing process, Gang of Youths have crafted some of their finest work so far."[17]

Track listing[]

All tracks are written by David Le'aupepe, Donnie Borzestowski, Max Dunn, Tom Hobden, and Jung Kim; "Spirit Boy" co-written by Shane McLean.

Angel in Realtime track listing
No.TitleLength
1."You in Everything"6:51
2."In the Wake of Your Leave"4:03
3."The Angel of 8th Ave."3:59
4."Returner"4:43
5."Unison"5:08
6."Tend the Garden"4:27
7."The Kingdom Is Within You"4:23
8."Spirit Boy"6:27
9."Brothers"5:54
10."Forbearance"5:38
11."The Man Himself"4:24
12."Hand of God"4:03
13."Goal of the Century"7:03
Total length:67:03

Notes[]

  • All track titles are stylised in all lowercase.

Personnel[]

Gang of Youths

  • David Le'aupepe – lead vocals, production, engineering (all tracks); guitar (1, 2, 5, 6); backing vocals, piano (2, 6); bass (3), keyboards (3, 5, 6), synthesizer (6)
  • Donnie Borzestowski – drums, production, engineering (all tracks); percussion (1, 5, 6), piano (1), backing vocals (2, 4, 6–13)
  • Max Dunn – production, engineering (all tracks); bass (1, 2, 4–13), banjo (1, 5), piano (1, 6), backing vocals (2), guitar (3); autoharp, keyboards (5),
  • Tom Hobden – production, engineering (all tracks); backing vocals (2, 5), viola (2, 4–6, 11), violin (2–6, 11), piano (4, 7, 9–13)
  • Jung Kim – guitar, production, engineering (all tracks);, backing vocals (2), piano (3, 8)

Additional musicians

  • Daniel Ricciardo – backing vocals (2, 11)
  • Auckland Gospel Choir – backing vocals (2, 11)
  • Seumanu Simon Matāfai – music direction (2), piano (6)
  • Anuanua Drummers – percussion (2, 6)
  • Ian Burdge – cello (5, 11)
  • Johnny Griffiths – clarinet, flute, saxophone (5)
  • Ilid Jones – cor anglais, oboe (5)
  • Nick Etwell – flugelhorn, trumpet (5, 11)
  • Matt Gunner – French horn (5, 11)
  • Dave Williamson – trombone (5, 11)
  • Indiana Dunn – backing vocals, percussion (6)
  • James Larter – marimba (6)
  • Kaumātua – spoken voice (6)
  • Tony Gibbs – spoken voice (6)
  • Aemon Beech - percussion (1)
  • Anna Pamin – percussion (11)
  • Blake Friend – percussion (11)
  • Peter Hutchings – synthesizer (11)

Technical

  • Peter Hutchings – production (2, 11), engineering (2, 3, 6, 11), mixing (11)
  • Peter Katis – production (2), mixing (5)
  • Count – mastering (1, 2, 5, 6), mixing (1, 2, 6)
  • Joe LaPorta – mastering (3)
  • Craig Silvey – mixing (3, 11)
  • Richard Woodcraft – engineering (1, 5, 6, 11)
  • Gergő Láposi – orchestral engineering (1)
  • Péter Barabás – orchestral engineering (1)
  • Dani Bennett Spragg – mixing assistance (11)
  • Emily Wheatcroft Snape – engineering assistance (2, 11)
  • Jamie Sprosen – engineering assistance (2, 11)
  • Luke O'Dea – engineering assistance (3)
  • Tess Dunn – engineering assistance (6)

Charts[]

Angel in Realtime debuted at number 1 on the ARIA Charts, becoming the band's second number one. Gang Of Youths said "We just want to thank everybody for sticking with us and buying and streaming our record. We are proud to be an Australian band and we just want to say again how much we appreciate the support we get from you all."[21]

Chart performance for Angel in Realtime
Chart (2022) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[22] 1
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)[23] 12
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[24] 37
Scottish Albums (OCC)[25] 6
UK Albums (OCC)[26] 10

References[]

  1. ^ a b Deville, Chris (7 October 2021). "Gang Of Youths Share New Single "The Man Himself": Listen". Stereogum. Retrieved 8 October 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d Langford, Jackson (10 November 2021). "Gang Of Youths announce new album Angel in Realtime and 2022 world tour". NME. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  3. ^ a b Langford, Jackson (7 January 2022). "Gang of Youths release new single "In the Wake of Your Leave"". NME Australia. Retrieved 8 January 2022.
  4. ^ Gonzalez, Alex (22 February 2022). "David Le'aupepe Roams London On The New Gang Of Youths Single 'Spirit Boy'". Uproxx. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
  5. ^ @gangofyouths (12 November 2021). "we are really looking forward to playing some shows and sharing our new album with you, in realtime. if you pre order the album now you will get early access to tickets" (Tweet). Retrieved 24 February 2022 – via Twitter.
  6. ^ "Gang of Youths announce new album angel in realtime. and 2022 tour". Australian Broadcasting Corporation. 11 November 2021. Retrieved 12 November 2021.
  7. ^ Gang of Youths - in the wake of your leave (Official Video), retrieved 21 February 2022
  8. ^ "Gang Of Youths release new single 'In The Wake Of Your Leave'". NME. 7 January 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  9. ^ "Gang Of Youths Share The New Single 'Spirit Boy'". UPROXX. 22 February 2022. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
  10. ^ a b "Angel in Realtime by Gang of Youths". Metacritic. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  11. ^ a b Collar, Matt (25 February 2022). "Angel in Realitime – Gang of Youths | Songs, Reviews, Credits". AllMusic. Retrieved 26 February 2022.
  12. ^ a b Williams, Josh (23 February 2022). "Gang of Youths – angel in realtime". Dork. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  13. ^ a b "Gang of Youths' 'angel in realtime' Revels in Relentless Optimism". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  14. ^ a b "Gang of Youths: Angel in Realtime review – overcrowded anthems with a few special moments". The Guardian. 24 February 2022. Retrieved 24 February 2022.
  15. ^ a b D'Souza, Shaad. "angel in realtime". Pitchfork. Retrieved 27 February 2022.
  16. ^ a b "Album Review: Gang of Youths soars with stunning 'Angel in Realtime'". Riff Magazine. 21 February 2022. Retrieved 21 February 2022.
  17. ^ a b "Gang Of Youths – 'Angel In Realtime.' review: A towering account of love and loss". NME. 25 February 2022. Retrieved 28 February 2022.
  18. ^ holy shit! the magnificent Greg James has made us tune of the week
WIKI