HEAVY HEAVY, by Young Fathers
Trying to decode Edinburgh-based trio Young Fathers’ third album is akin to peering into a kaleidoscope and attempting to describe to someone down a faulty phone connection the rotating colour patterns.
Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham Hastings have a broad palette, which includes thumping acoustic funk, the casualness of the Beta Band and early Beck, a touch of glam stomp, African chants and plenty of spontaneous lo-fi soul with whoops, ululations and the echo of their basement studio.
Whatever Young Fathers are doing sounds like a whole lot of fun. But it’s serious, too.
The hefty beat of the urgent I Saw – with the catchy hook “I saw what I saw, I keep walking the line” – belies a message about racist rhetoric. But it does so in language as convoluted as Bob Dylan’s Subterranean Homesick Blues: “Not falling for your charms, no crash into your arms. A handful of coins and a balled-up fist. Picking rubbish, cleaning rubbish. A bad seed, a rotten apple. Take out the rubbish.”
Denne historien er fra February 25-March 3 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra February 25-March 3 2023-utgaven av New Zealand Listener.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
First-world problem
Harrowing tales of migrants attempting to enter the US highlight the political failure to fully tackle the problem.
Applying intelligence to AI
I call it the 'Terminator Effect', based on the premise that thinking machines took over the world.
Nazism rears its head
Smirky Höcke, with his penchant for waving with a suspiciously straight elbow and an open palm, won't get to be boss of either state.
Staying ahead of the game
Will the brave new world of bipartisanship that seems to be on offer with an Infrastructure Commission come to fruition?
Grasping the nettle
Broccoli is horrible. It smells, when being cooked, like cat pee.
Hangry? Eat breakfast
People who don't break their fast first thing in the morning report the least life satisfaction.
Chemical reaction
Nitrates in processed meats are well known to cause harm, but consumed from plant sources, their effect is quite different.
Me and my guitar
Australian guitarist Karin Schaupp sticks to the familiar for her Dunedin concerts.
Time is on my side
Age does not weary some of our much-loved musicians but what keeps them on the road?
The kids are not alright
Nuanced account details how China's blessed generation has been replaced by one consumed by fear and hopelessness.