Young Fathers | Gig Review
May 1 | Written BY Louise Honeybul
Young Father’s two sold out nights at Academy Glasgow are a sucker punch reminder of their genre- defying artistry, and why they remain one of Scotland’s most distinctive and beloved alternative acts.
From the beginning the minimal set design – a sweeping sheet of white cloth draped asymmetrically across the back of the stage - sets the scene for a show that revels in opposition and the unexpected. Over four years since their last gig, the crowd was poised for a good time and Young Fathers’ delivered in spades. Bolstered with support from two magnetic support singers, drummer Steven Morrison and show opener Callum Easter, the iconic art deco theatre was transformed into a relentless, almost bacchanalian onslaught of sound and performance.
The Edinburgh trio, formed in 2008 and consisting of Ally Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham ‘G’ Hastings have gained a cult-like following as one of the north’s most creatively exciting bands. From their Mercury Prize-winning debut album Dead (2014) which followed mixtapes Tape One (2011) and Tape Two (2013), their sound has both expanded out and tightened up. Sweeping across styles, pumping dancefloor beats are delivered with atmospheric percussive energy, spangled melodies and pulsing basslines.
Heavy Heavy, their latest offering released in 2022 is their fourth album and it builds on their expansive repertoire with a slicker sensibility but remains no less confident – bombastic and eclectic, with driving choruses and infectious grooves, it is an album ready for the post-covid return to live music.
The building energy is palpable throughout Academy following Callum Easter’s gravelly, multi- instrumental glam-sleaze set of synth-driven political songs. Charismatic and cool, predominantly playing from 2021’s System, Easter promenades across the stage in a floor length mac. By the time Young Fathers take the stage around 9pm the room is tightly wound with expectation.
Kicking off to with Tape Two’s Freefalling, the buoyant chants and subtle build sets off momentum that never lets up for the rest of the evening. Early material dominates the beginning of the show, with tracks from Heavy Heavy kicking in once favourites Get Up and The Queen is Dead had set the pace. Alongside the skim of half slung white fabric, white strobes throw leaping shadows across the stage as Morrison controls the relentless pace with a vice-like grip. Easter reappears mid-set to assist on various instruments and lend another voice to the cornucopia of vocals. New tracks Be Your Lady, Drum, Rice and Geronimo are interspersed with more familiar music as the party keeps going.
Effortless without feeling choreographed, the band and their collaborators move across the stage in seamless passes, playing with levels and fluid spatial organisation. The effect is hypnotic and immersive – in the audience it feels like the show never breaks, the power never stops even in quieter moments and the communal energy in the room never wavers. It’s rare to see a band feel so in tune in their collective physicality, navigating the rises and falls of the set with careful precision but with a raw and unpretentious control. It’s impossible not to feel that you’re in the hands of skilled artists; musicians, movers, performers and are watching something extraordinary.
Closing numbers: the tambourine tinged Shame – during which a flashlight is swung across the audience – and finale Toy leave the crowd screaming with a force that makes the building shake as the drum kit is trashed on stage. Young Fathers left the room breathless, having held Glasgow balanced on a knife edge, expertly dancing the fine line between control and chaos in one of the slickest, most exciting, live performances since venues got sweaty again.