Like a smack in the face from a Smurf, regional Australia was left a little blue when Sydneysiders Gang of Youths announced a national tour that saw them visiting only the bigger cities. But whaddayaknow, the good times have found their way to us now. With their debut full-length album The Positions available for every good boy and girl, the band has every right to be feeling pretty good – especially given they have dedicated a good two years to its recording, not to mention its four-year writing period. Debuting at #5 on the ARIA Chart probably didn’t hurt, either. In this month’s issue of Rolling Stone Australia, Rod Yates ran an interesting story/interview about the crafting of the release. An excerpt reads: “I met these human beings who literally gave their whole lives to satisfy this fucking vision I had,” adds Leaupepe [frontman Dave Leaupepe]. “And very few people in my world can say that. Literally, none of us have any worldly shit because of this album. We lost all our money, we left our homes, we moved to another country, we slept on floors, we were broke.” Tap House, Bendigo – August 27; The Karova, Ballarat – August 28; The Workers Club, Geelong – August 29; and The Loft, Warrnambool – September 1.