By ALLAN COLLINS
staff writer

Australian indie rock outfit Gang of Youths just released their second full length record, and what a record it is.
The band was formed in 2012 and their first album, “The Positions,” was all around a great success but definitely had its flaws of being a bit unoriginal.
Now, “Go Farther in Lightness” still suffers from the same issue, but there is still a lot of great material that makes this monstrous 72-minute record feel like a fun and theatrical experience.
First off, the lyrics have a lot to do with grace and light. Everything in our lives shouldn’t be taken for granted, especially in the situation that we are in right now with these two horrific hurricanes hitting Texas and Florida.
Where this record really shines is in its instrumentation. From start to finish, each song brings a great melody and beat to keep you entertained through your listen.
Songs like “Fear and Trembling” and “What Can I Do if the Fire Goes Out” have this very hard rock/punk feel to them with the fast drumming and hard-hitting guitar work.
Other songs like “Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane” and “Let Me Down Easy” have a much more chilling and skeletal feel to them, but the soothing voice of singer David Le’aupepe and the overall aesthetic keep you wanting more from these songs.
Even the last three songs — “The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows,” “Our Time is Short” and “Say Yes to Life” —just have this incredible and spine-chilling progression to them that makes you think you’re at the live show listening to angels play with your ears.
The whole record just feels fluid. Nothing feels too jumbled or out of place. Each song feels like it should be there and plays an important role in making your journey an enjoyable one.
There aren’t a lot of negatives to this album, but one glaring one is the interludes. Now, if you are unfamiliar on how interludes work, it goes like this:
Interludes are meant to either show a shift in sound in the album, to help give the listener a bit of a breather from the intensity of the album or to tell a story.
The interludes, and there are three of them, feel not only awkward, but structurally misplaced. An example is “Le Reel.”
This interlude is two minutes long and is not only glaringly too long, but just feels so silly to put in.
It adds nothing to the album except for making you sit for two minutes, listening to beautiful chamber music.
Overall this is something that you can’t miss out on if you are a fan of indie rock music, especially if you listened to a lot of it in the late ‘90s and early 2000s because this will be a great listen for you.
It’s just an easy listen that will keep you listening the whole 72 minutes.
Happy listening, Gannon University!
Favorite Song: “What Can I Do if the Fire Goes Out?”
Least Favorite Song: “Our Time is Short”
Rating: light 8/10
Related artists: The Smith Street Band, The Gaslight Anthem, Titus Andronicus

ALLAN COLLINS
[email protected]