Michael Haneke’s 1992 film Benny’s Video provides the starting point for Gang of Youths’ new single of the same name. It arrives alongside the announcement of Compañero, their fourth studio album, due on 12 March 2027 via Mosy Recordings / Sony Music Australia / RCA UK / Arista US.
The single follows August’s ARIA nominated “Things Take Time”. The announcement describes its sound in terms of propulsive synths and an unsettling undercurrent. Listen to the single or pre-order Compañero, or watch the lyric video.
Much of the album’s early writing took place in the garden behind violinist Tom Hobden’s London home. Frontman David Le’aupepe began moving beyond songs drawn exclusively from his own experiences, taking inspiration from the storytelling of Leonard Cohen, Warren Zevon, Tom Waits, David Berman and Bill Callahan.
The title is a Spanish word meaning companion, partner or comrade. Mortality remains a subject, but Hobden describes a change in how the band approaches it: a record about death can also celebrate being alive.
Recording took place across the UK, including Decoy Studios and Cloud 9, the band’s name for the small studio in Hobden’s backyard. Jung Kim primarily produced and engineered the sessions, with the band recording as much as possible live. Kim describes them as “incredibly goofy and light-hearted”, a quality they wanted to bring into the record.
Compañero follows 2022’s angel in realtime, which explored the loss of Le’aupepe’s father and questions around his identity. Their 2017 album Go Farther In Lightness reached No. 1 in Australia and won four ARIA Awards.
A North American headline tour begins in Boston on 17 March 2027, with a Coachella performance also announced. The artist presale opens on Wednesday 18 November 2026, ahead of the general sale on Friday 20 November at 10am local time.