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Vid O' The Week – Gang of Youths

Thank goodness Gang of Youths moved to the United States. If they decided to shoot the video for their latest single Poison Drum here in their home town of Sydney, we’d have yet another video of a bunch of dorks walking down King Street in Newtown – absolutely the last thing we need. Instead, GOY have taken to the streets of the far more interesting Los Angeles, trading in the townhouse rowed alleys for wide open strip malls and the Coopers Pale Ales for a cardboard bowl of noodles.

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Gang of Youths are a bunch of grown ass men hauling ass around LA scoffing down cheeseburgers, sucking on noodles and making some sick jamz. Here’s our illustration of them doing just that by the super talented Nicky Minus.

Obviously the band take centre stage in the clip, but I couldn’t help but take note of the supporting cast that populates the background of the clip. A lady with a pram at the 0:25 mark represents the futility of life, the image of a baby in a pram stuck trying to make its way up the gutter, framed by a row of grotesque blow up figurines. At 1:20, a genderless being contemplates suicide next to a river and only fifteen seconds later, we see a prequel shot of the figure’s previous life – holding hands with a partner we can only now assume is gone from this world.  Finally, a mysteriously sunglassed lady at the 3:45 mark breaks the fourth wall, as if to stare metaphysically at both the viewer and the performer, breaking the bounds of materiality and human ego and exposing the questionable reality of our physical senses.

If you’re looking for an existential look into the existence of man in the grand scheme of the universe as told by five hairy men motionlessly skateboarding around LA with very expensive musical equipment, then Poison Drum is your Vid O’ The Week. If you’re looking for a bunch of grown-ass men hauling ass around LA scoffing down cheeseburgers and sucking on noodles, then this is also your Vid O’ The Week.

Poison Drum is the second (or third? I can’t really keep track here) single off Gang Of Youths’ upcoming LP, which we figured out in our recent interview with old mate Davo will consist of about sixteen tracks, the five minute Poison Drum being one of the shortest. The group are also set to play a few shows in late August around the country – notably at the Oxford Art Factory here in Sydney and at the Northcote Social Club in Melbourne. Support slots are TBA, but from their last few shows with Mt Warning and Tim Fitz, these dudes have a great taste in supporting acts.

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