"In the Wake of Your Leave" is a song by Australian

alternative rock Alternative rock, or alt-rock, is a category of rock music that emerged from the independent music underground of the 1970s and became widely popular in the 1990s. "Alternative" refers to the genre's distinction from Popular culture, mainstre ...

band

Gang of Youths Gang of Youths are an Australian alternative rock group from Sydney based in London. The band consists of principal songwriter David Le'aupepe (lead vocals, guitar), Max Dunn (bass guitar), Jung Kim (lead guitar, keyboards), Donnie Borzestowsk ...

, released on 7 January 2022 as the third

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

to their third studio album, ''

Angel in Realtime ''Angel in Realtime'' is the third studio album by Australian alternative rock band Gang of Youths, released on 25 February 2022 through Mosy Recordings. Written over the four years following the death of frontman David Le'aupepe's father, th ...

'' (2022). It peaked at number 29 on ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

''s

Adult Alternative Airplay Adult Alternative Airplay (also known as Triple A or Triple A Airplay, and formerly Adult Alternative Songs and Triple A Songs) is a record chart currently published by ''Billboard'' that ranks the most popular songs on adult album alternative radi ...

chart, and was considered a favourite to top

Triple J Triple J (stylised in all lowercase) is a government-funded, national Australian Radio in Australia, radio station intended to appeal to listeners of alternative music, which began broadcasting in January 1975. The station also places a greate ...

's Hottest 100 of 2022 poll, ending up at number 9. In May 2022, a re-recorded version of the track was released on their '' Immolation Tape'' EP.

Background and release

The band's third studio album, ''

'', was announced on 10 November 2021, along with a track list, details of a worldwide tour, and "Tend the Garden", the album's second single following "The Man Himself" (October 2021). "In the Wake of Your Leave" was issued on 7 January 2022.

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

-based

graphic designer A graphic designer is a professional within the graphic design and graphic arts industry who assembles together images, typography, or motion graphics to create a piece of design. A graphic designer creates the graphics primarily for published, ...

Bradley Pinkerton, who handled the cover for earlier single "The Man Himself", produced the artwork for the track. On 18 April 2022, the band performed the track live on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It is the seventh incar ...

''. On 20 May 2022, the band surprised released their third EP, '' Immolation Tape'', containing a re-recorded version of "In the Wake of Your Leave". It was recorded in March at a

Sirius XM Sirius XM Holdings Inc. is an American broadcasting company headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City that provides satellite radio and online radio services operating in the United States. It was formed by the 2008 merger of Sirius Sat ...

studio in the United States for the station's ''Spectrum Sessions'' program.

Composition

Musically, the track features backing harmonies from the

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

Gospel Choir and percussion by drummers from the

Cook Islands ) , image_map = Cook Islands on the globe (small islands magnified) (Polynesia centered).svg , capital = Avarua , coordinates = , largest_city = Avarua , official_languages = , lan ...

. The band further found inspiration for the track from ''

Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards ''Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards'' is an orchestral piece composed in 1979 by Steve Reich. The piece is scored for oboes, flutes, full brass (three trumpets, three trombones, and tuba), strings, pianos, and electric organs. ''Variati ...

'' by

Steve Reich Stephen Michael Reich ( ; born October 3, 1936) is an American composer known for his contribution to the development of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, a ...

. Le'aupepe reflected on the track's purpose upon release:

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. As a result, most of the time, I feel a bit futile as a person.

Written about "the undulating rise and fall of grief in life and how you end up missing it when it’s gone", the band struggled with not wanting the song to sound generic, which they resolved by "adding layers and kind of making this big

maximalist In the arts, maximalism, a reaction against minimalism, is an aesthetic of excess. The philosophy can be summarized as "more is more", contrasting with the minimalist motto "less is more". Literature The term ''maximalism'' is sometimes associat ...

dreamscape".

Reception

The song received highly positive reviews from critics. Tyler Jenke of ''

Rolling Stone Australia ''Rolling Stone'' Australia is the Australian edition of the United States' ''Rolling Stone'' magazine devoted to music, politics, and popular culture, published monthly. The Australian version of ''Rolling Stone'' was initially published in 197 ...

'' wrote the track was "introspective in its writing, powerful in its message, and inescapable in its appeal", concluding "another majestic outing" from the band. Radio station

Triple M Triple M is an Australian commercial radio network owned and operated by Southern Cross Austereo. The network consists of 40 radio stations broadcasting a mainstream rock music format and 5 digital radio stations. The network dates back to th ...

wrote the song "burns with life-affirming, whole-hearted passion – from its exuberant rush to its bright, colossal melodies and its addictive, radio-friendly hook". The track was named Song of the Week by

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including electronica, dance, ...

presenter

Greg James Gregory James Alan Milward (born 17 December 1985) is an English radio and television presenter, comedian and author. He is the host of BBC Radio 1's breakfast show, co-presenter on the cricket podcast '' Tailenders'' alongside Felix White and ...

. In January 2023, the song was considered a leading contender to win the

Triple J Hottest 100, 2022 The 2022 Triple J Hottest 100 was announced on 28 January 2023. It was the 30th annual countdown of the most popular songs of the year, as voted for by listeners of Australian radio station Triple J. The day before, the Hottest 200 played, counti ...

Music video

On 19 January 2022, the band premiered a

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

for the track on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

. Filmed in three takes, it was directed by Joel Barney and

choreographed Choreography is the art or practice of designing sequences of movements of physical bodies (or their depictions) in which motion or form or both are specified. ''Choreography'' may also refer to the design itself. A choreographer is one who cr ...

by Antoine Thomas-Sturge. Tom Skinner of ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'' concluded the video "provides a dose of joyful escapism", following the performers as they "bust moves through a colourful, hyperreal version of

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

in homage to the golden age of the musical".

Charts

References

{{Gang of Youths 2022 songs 2022 singles Gang of Youths songs Songs written by David Le'aupepe Warner Records singles