Young Fathers, Usher Hall, Edinburgh review - powerful set from a band who keep pushing boundaries

Fresh from winning this year’s Scottish Album of the Year Award – for the third time no less! – Young Fathers gave a spectacular performance on Tuesday night on their home turf, at Edinburgh’s Usher Hall. Sure, it seems odd that a competition that’s only been running ten years has been won three times by a band who’ve released four albums.

Listen to the albums though and you’ll get it. See Young Fathers live and you’ll realise why this is one of the most exciting bands making music right now not just in Scotland, nor even the UK, but internationally. This is a group who are always creating something new. Touring their new album Heavy Heavy, the trio – Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham "G" Hastings – were joined by a crack team of musicians in their touring band, including two fabulously powerful backing singers, as well as singer and multi-instrumentalist Callum Easter, who’s also supported the band for several of their shows. The sound they created was vigorous yet soulful, punchy yet light in what was a sparklingly theatrical performance. With nothing but a torn and (artfully) stained white sheet as a backdrop juxtaposed with a dazzling lighting rig, they demonstrated visually as well as aurally that they’re a band who can’t be pigeon-holed nor pinned down.

Playing mostly tracks from the new album, "Rice" had a strong, infectious swing, with a heavy, loud drumbeat banged out from the back of the stage, while "Tell Somebody" was powerfully tender, with compelling vocals from the band and backing singers. "I Saw" was audacious and angry, its raw, visceral energy probably prompting the most kinetic reaction from a crowd which, for a band like this, was a wee bit muted. Earlier numbers were also rousing, such as "Get Up", from their debut album DEAD, and "In My View" from 2018’s Cocoa Sugar. Ending the set with "Toy", also from Cocoa Sugar, the band squeezed out every last drop of their energy to end what was a magnetic set.

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