This album has been submitted by a user and is not included in any edition of the book.
Go Farther in Lightness is the second studio album by Australian alternative rock band Gang of Youths, released on 18 August 2017 by Mosy Recordings. Written entirely by frontman David Le'aupepe, its lyrics focus on "the human experience in all its bleakness and triumph", detailing a mission of finding hope and love amidst personal struggles like loss. The 77-minute rock album also contains three orchestral interludes composed by Le'aupepe. The release of Go Farther in Lightness was supported by the record-breaking Say Yes to Life Tour in Australia and six singles, including "What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out?" and "Let Me Down Easy" – the latter became the band's first top 50 single in Australia. The song also polled at number two in the Triple J Hottest 100 of 2017, where three other tracks placed in the top 10. The album debuted at number one on the ARIA Albums Chart, and was certified platinum in Australia by the Australian Recording Industry Association (ARIA) in 2020. Go Farther in Lightness was acclaimed by music critics and featured in several end-of-year lists. Nominated for eight categories at the ARIA Music Awards of 2017, four awards were won by Gang of Youths – Album of the Year, Best Group, Best Rock Album and Producer of the Year (with Adrian Breakspear). Rolling Stone Australia has listed it among the 200 greatest Australian albums of all time, and at number three in their 50 best albums of 2017. A top position was achieved in the annual Triple J album poll, and two of the tracks featured in the radio station's Hottest 100 of the Decade.
Wtf? A good album on the user submitted list Its unheard of Ty for the disovery The National but good lmao
I got a lot of 'The National' vibes, but less sad. Never heard of this band, but glad you made me discover them.
This album started out like an Australian version of a band like The Killers or something. The first songs were bombastic but didn’t quite live up to my favorite artists of this genre. I braced myself for 80 minutes of slightly disappointing music. Then somewhere in the first third the songs turned much quieter - maybe some Chris Rea undertones were emerging - and I started to really like them more and more. Then about halfway through I was hearing string pieces… when “Le Symbolique” blended into “Let Me Down Easy” the Gang of Youths had fully won me over. I started off thinking this was headed for a 3 rating, but found myself enjoying the album more and more as it went on. If I had a nit to pick it might be that I could have trimmed the runtime down a bit, but the high points more than make up for that tiny critique.
Oh now this is very interesting! Putting Australia on the map a bit more for other listeners, that's good. This might seem so out of pocket, but to me, this sounds like if Billy Joel wrote mid-aughts emo/punk rock songs. There's a gritty realistic storytelling element here that somehow reminds me of him. There's also something that reminds me of Lord Huron too. And that makes a bit more sense because they are contemporaries. Yeah, I like this quite a bit. A good album to loop through a few times. It does run on a bit long for my liking, probably could have been tightened up just a smidge. A wonderful and worthy inclusion!
Remove the melodramatic strings and cut the runtime in half and... I still wouldn't like it.
Wow, I really enjoyed this. At first it reminded me of Springsteen, similar energy, which was really good. Then the songs started slowing down a bit and the strings came in and it just blew me away. 4 stars, will listen again.
Incredibly surprised by the variety of sound in this, although I do wish it was a hair shorter. Good pick though!
Nice surprise. Much better than a lot of the ones listed in the original list.
Rating: 8/10 Best songs: Fear and trembling, Keep me in the open, Do not let your spirit wane, Achilles come down
This album comes so close to being incredible. It starts off with an almost Springsteen like heartland rock before moving though indie folk, pop punk, and modern indie rock influences. There’s a fair amount of U2 in there as well. I was really stuck by its earnestness as well especially in a time where it’s not cool to do so. It’s just a bit too bloated which is u fortunate because it has such potential.
Adore this album, yet another that I would've strongly considered choosing as my pick. I found this album one day just looking through new releases on Apple Music, the cover intrigued me. Never heard of the band, but I downloaded it and listened on a flight. Pretty sure it altered my brain chemistry, I was blown away. There are hints of the National in their sound, but it also reminds me of Japandroids, a great cathartic rock band unafraid to lean all the way into sincerity and, for lack of a less pretentious term, "joie de vivre." This album is maximal, it's long, there's grand string arrangements and interludes, but the emotion is so powerful and if you submit yourself to it, it'll rock you to your core. Relatively unknown Australian band (at least at the time I discovered this) blowing the roof off. One of my favorites of 2017, and of the last decade. Favorite tracks: One of those instances where my list is most of the tracklist, but "Persevere" is probably my number one, followed closely by ""The Deepest Sighs, the Frankest Shadows," "Keep Me in the Open," "Let Me Down Easy," "The Heart is a Muscle," and "What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out." Album art: Really not much to it, a black and white photo of a woman sitting on a bed. She's got a distant look in her eye that intrigues me. Bold font framing with the title is probably what caught my eye years ago. Big fan of this one. 5/5
I liked some of this very much.
Musically this was quite nice, with an emotional earnestness to the lyrics that's appealing if sometimes heavy. I find the pace to be somewhat plodding, but this improves by the back half of the album. "Achilles Come Down" was really lovely, reminding me of something you might hear by Rufus Wainwright. Thanks for sharing. Fave Songs: Achilles Come Down, Atlas Drowned, Let Me Down Easy, What Can I Do If the Fire Goes Out?, Le réel, Le symbolique
Was a bit shocked this band was Australian because listening to them I heard influences from Springsteen and the Killers. Their sound is pretty similar to Bleachers with the spoken cadence singing and varied instrumentals that progress in tempo through the songs. Overall I enjoyed this quite a bit and think that Australian indie pop/rock is a great genre and many unknown bands are in it. I listened to this a few times and even some of their other music but this was their best work it seemed. Very good and enjoyable. 7.5/10
As in the first tracks there are singers or groups that are vocally similar, at times the songs become heavy, melancholic and dull enough to make you yawn, then they recompose and generally pass. 2.5 stars
This band is trying way too hard to be a glossy, modern-day Springsteen and ends up sounding like a cut-rate version of the Killers as a result. The instrumentals are executed well and I can see the vision, but this is still landfill indie at the end of the day.
From the art and name, I was expecting some sort of grim, gritty post-punk. What I got was another Springsteen-worshipping indie rock band like Arcade Fire. It's... fine. Nothing I'd ever purposefully seek out, but nothing I'd swerve across seven lanes of traffic to toss into a ravine.
A Springsteen rock vibe early on evolves into slower, string-laden songs as the album progresses. The journey through the album as it becomes increasingly introspective and lush helps it hold the attention and justifies it's length, making it an unexpected treat. Rating: 4.5 Playlist track: Let Me Down Easy Date listened: 08/11/24
The double album's plenty going for it technically, but the core will remain melodrama. I read Gang of Youths as an alternate exvangelical strand: Identification with the music is the price of admission to it. While I want to see the project as perfect again, seams do show at this age. Uneven weighting isn't in conversation with the nods to Lacan; The end is the same basic idea as the beginning; The only place to contemplate is the same loud register. For all eighty minutes, though, strings tug on strings and the clichés are universal enough to avoid the trite.
Starts out pretty good, hits a transcendent level around Achilles Come Down, and then sort of outstays its welcome by being too long of an album. Overall a great time!
Each song felt like its own story with unique organization. Some felt like rock, others had pianos and strings. Each was a journey. I wasn’t a fan of them all but this is an awesome conclusion. I know my brother loves this album so he’s going to be happy.
Surprised I haven't heard of this group before, but they seem to be quite big in Australia but haven't quite broken through elsewhere. Looking at where they've played here they played quite a small venue two years ago so they clearly haven't broken through. I enjoyed it but still, it falls into the trap that so many albums do which is being too damn long. Like yesterday's Big Thief album, you could cut a lot and make it tighter. It just felt like it dragged on and with some good snips would be a nice and tight 45-50 minutes. Otherwise I enjoyed it. My personal rating: 4/5 My rating relative to the original list: 4/5 (too long!!) Should this has been included on the original list: Another tough one. I think it's a similar to yesterday where I'm leaning more towards no, but I wouldn't be disappointed if it were.
The first 20 minutes or so are outstanding anthemic soaring stadium rock similar to Springsteen, Simple Minds, U2. The rest is less rocky and more pretty particularly the string arrangements, but not as special.
These guys are a household name in Australia, but I've never heard them until right now. It's... better than expected, tbh. It has that pretend-world-weary indie vibe that I roll my eyes at, but it's still catchy. 3/5.
Strong Springsteen vibes, it benefitted when it diversified beyond that sound. Quite a bit of it followed kind of a monotonous vocal/metric pattern that wore thin. I liked it generally but not quite great for me.
Orchestral arrangement were really nice, but it was just too long. 3.5/5 but rounding down because I was slightly fatigued by the end of it. Still a good listen.
It's starts out with some highly energetic songs with a bit of 'Springsteen meets Gaslight Anthem' vibe. Like that a lot! Album is a little on the long side, and halfway it sinks more and more into songs that are nice to the ear yet lack a true hook or edge. 3 starts nonetheless.
Indie rock. Ni fu ni fa.
Reminds me a bit of The National or War on Drugs with the occasional orchestral flair. Though there were some decent tempo shifts, the music did end up getting very samey over the long length of the album. Do Not Let Your Spirit Wane was the standout track for me. Overall it was fine but not enough strong tracks that connected for me.
The most popular song is also the longest song. It has a decidedly Beatles sound. To be fair most songs can probably be traced to a Beatles song somewhere.
Actual good heartland rock?