On 'Heavy Heavy,' Young Fathers Continues to March to the Beat of Their Own Drum With Their Best Record Yet
The Edinburgh trio double down on being musically unclassifiable for the year's second must-hear record.
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It was five years ago, when we last checked in with Young Fathers, the experimental pop trio from Edinburgh. They were fresh off the release of Cocoa Sugar, a kaleidoscopic record that tightened up their genreless sound that blends soul, electronica, and hip hop. It would garner the Scottish Album of the Year Award in their homeland, another critical accomplishment for a group that won the prestigious Mercury Prize for the debut album Dead in 2014.
Heavy Heavy, the fourth and latest record for Young Fathers, is even more uncategorizable, and dare I say, the effortless ambition makes it their best yet. Itâs advertised as a âback to basicsâ record, whatever that may mean for Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole, and G. Hastings. In the case of Heavy Heavy, itâs the three of them hitting record in a basement studio and seeing what flies (hint, hint: it all does).
I was immediately ready for more Young Fathers the first time I listened to Cocoa Sugar, and itâs still a turntable staple five years later. My anticipation went through the roof when the group released âGeronimoâ last July as a standalone single, which now fits in beautifully as the centerpiece to Heavy Heavy. The record is a statement to the growth of Young Fathers1 from the teenagers they debuted as and their maturation to the next level, and the song illustrates this with lyrics like:
âI'm on the verge of somethin' divine that's gonna keep me in line
Most of my life I've been thinking
Got the feeling that I'm caught in a bind
Being a son, brother, uncle, father figure
I gotta survive and provide
My momma said you'll never ever please your woman
But you'll have a good time tryingâ
There are plenty more breezy numbers, with âTell Somebodyâ exploding into a wash of key synths and the shapeshifting closer, âBe Your Lady.â My favorite, though, is the celebratory âUlulationâ that finds them belting indigenous calls with pure joy. With Massaquoi and Bankole both having roots outside their Scottish base, itâs something theyâve always explored, but double down on Heavy Heavy.
From the starting one-two punch of âRiceâ and âI Saw,â which will sound familiar to fans of TV On the Radio, to later highlights like the explosive âHoly Moly,â this is a record that never falters. Heavy Heavy covers a lot of contemporary problems, but the music typically ends up joyous. Itâs the rare record that Iâm thankful I need to spend more time with, and I see it as one that defines the upcoming warmer months.
Heavy Heavy is available now on Ninja Tune.
Iâm sure youâre wondering where the Young Fathersâ name comes from - all three members are named after their fathers, hence the name play. Brilliant.