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Heavy Heavy is heavy indeed, and it wildly skips across a maddening range of musical genres—ambient, Afro, club/DJ, electronic, experimental, industrial, global, gospel, goth, hip hop/rap, new age, pop, psychedelic, rock, soul/neo-soul, trance, and on and on. It also reminds one of many other cutting-edge artists/bands without ever copying any of them—Animal Collective, Massive Attack, Sault, Spiritualized, TV on the Radio, etc.. It is cavernous yet claustrophobic, dark yet so dreamy, pounding yet sauntering, insulating yet communal, and furious yet endlessly hopeful. It is, more than anything, absolutely exhilarating and joyous!
The 10-track, 32-minute album (with all songs roughly clocking in at just over the 3-min. mark) opens with a towering 1-2-3 punch that’ll knock the socks off the most jaded listeners. “Rice” is a tribal African-sounding number that sounds celebratory and giddy despite some very socially conscious lyrics (“I need to catch more fish/I need to eat more rice/Gotta bide my time/See the turning tide”). “I Saw” becomes grittier and more energetic with skittish drum patterns and a very bass-heavy sound. This should get your whole body moving manically. “Drums” returns us to an uplifted mood with some very primal beats and rhythms (including lots of creative hand-clapping). This is where comparisons to Animal Collective start becoming undeniable (strongly reinforced by the next song and also “Ululation” further on).
Songs 4 + 5 take Heavy Heavy to its most otherworldly locations. “Tell Somebody” is ambient, mellow, and orchestral, while “Geronimo” is very hazy and reverb-heavy. This is where you’ll feel like you’re floating in outer space.
“Ululation” returns Young Fathers to their African roots. This chant-laden tune is perhaps where the title of this review applies most profoundly, as does the propulsive penultimate track “Holy Molly,” where you’ll hear sounds of sirens reminiscent of producer J Dilla (as heard on his 2006 album Donuts). The closing “Be Your Lady” provides some of the most chaotic moments on Heavy Heavy, perhaps alluding to the fact that you should not even begin trying to pigeonhole where this young Edinburgh, Scotland, band might head next. That’s as it should be; you’re left craving for more wildly unpredictable joy from these guys.
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