Following the July release of the Total Serene EP, Aussie rockers Gang Of Youths have given us perhaps the first taste of their yet-to-be announced upcoming album. “The Man Himself” finds singer Dave Le’aupepe pondering what his future looks like without his father by his side — whom he told Uproxx’s Steven Hyden in an interview last month was his “best mate in the whole world.” Before his father passed away of cancer in 2018, Le’aupepe knew nothing of his history in coming to Australia from Samoa and it has lit a fire inside of the singer to connect with his roots.
The song opens with pristine strings that unfurl into a drum and bass beat before Le’aupepe delivers the song’s chorus with an emotive tour de force akin to Bono:
Hey, now
I dunno what to feel, I dunno how to feel right
But I want to become my own man, I guess
Hey, now
I dunno if I’ll ever feel right
And let everything change to things that can make a man grow tall
The tension he feels when grappling with the road of life without his father is palpable, and we’re driven to ride this grief-stricken wave alongside him. And while the band is thriving since recently re-locating to London, Le’aupepe is still very much pondering how to move forward without his best mate.
“If I ever have kids I’m not really sure how to raise them without my dad helping me out.”
Gang Of Youths is a Warner Music artist. Uproxx is an independent subsidiary of Warner Music Group.