Touring for the first time in four years on the back of their new album Heavy Heavy, Edinburgh trio Young Fathers arrived in Leeds for their O2 Academy show on Tuesday evening with a reputation for being one of the UK’s best live bands.
Their fourth LP is an early album of the year contender - a high-energy mish-mash of hip hop, soul, rock, gospel, electronica and more fused together into catchy and irresistible three-minute pop songs.
With so many moods and style to choose from in their eclectic back catalogue, they begin with soulful-tinged 2013 cut Freefalling before erupting into Get Up, a thrilling track that featured on T2 Trainspotting soundtrack. The tone is set for a breathless opening salvo that includes their post-punk live favourite Queen is Dead, which is delivered like an adrenalin shot to the heart as huge drums combine with tribal chanting and bone-shaking droning bass.
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A hypnotic and equally atmospheric Wow from their 2018 album Cocoa Sugar follows before the propulsive Rain or Shine and then the stuttering Old Rock n Roll, which again reaches a huge climax and leaves you marvelling at how much energy and how many ideas can be packed into a three-minute song.
In fact, it isn’t until halfway through the set that the band really pause to take stock, with a beautifully stripped-back start to Be Your Lady, the closer from their latest album.
The trio all deliver faultless vocal performances, with Kayus Bankole, a kinetic ball of energy, darting across the stage with the crowd in the palm of his hand. Bandmate Graham ‘G’ Hastings has more of a cool, brooding intensity, while Alloysious Massaquoi has the self-confidence of a performer at the top of his game, able to combine a range of vocal styles with the odd go on a drum for some of the more raucous numbers.
The rest of the backing band all bring something to the party too, slotting together seamlessly to create an on-stage party that reflects the joyous nature of some of their new songs, such as Drum (‘Hear the beat of the drums and go numb, have fun’ the refrain there), a guitar-infused version of Rice, and a stomping rendition of I Saw, all of which go down a treat with the crowd.
The biggest cheers of the evening are probably reserved for In My View and closer Toy, in which a police siren megaphone comes out for the second time that evening to preface a noisy climax to the show that left everyone wanting more.
The 17-song gig flew by with this laser-focused band letting their music do the talking and keeping on-stage banter to a minimum, creating a celebratory atmosphere that was impossible not to be completely engulfed by.
On this kind of form, the Scottish trio should rightly be considered as one of the best live acts in the country and one can only imagine how good their festival appearances will be this summer. Do all you can to see them.
Setlist
Freefalling
Get Up
Feasting
Queen is Dead
Wow
Rain or Shine
Old Rock n Roll
Be Your Lady
Drum
I Heard
In My View
Low
Rice
Geronimo
I Saw
Shame
Toy
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