Young Fathers and Callum Easter resist classification and awaken collective spirit at 9:30 Club
Following the 2023 release of their fourth studio album Heavy Heavy, Young Fathers embarked on their first North American headlining tour. With several impressive UK honors under their belt, the Fathers are finally drawing the global attention they have long deserved. Last week at 9:30 Club, Callum Easter and Young Fathers inspired a level of rapture that most would consider to be inappropriate for a Monday night. Through their imaginative soundworlds, both acts tap into a deep well of existential emotion. Their music reminds us of our humanity, shines a light on hypocrisy, and turns that same light back on the listener, commanding us to stand up and move.
Callum Easter took the stage unceremoniously, like a modern-day hurdy gurdy man. His barebones setup consisted of a second-hand accordion and a drum machine, which he adjusted manually before each song to achieve his desired BPM. Easter opened with a track from his 2023 release, Get Forever… Delete Don’t Want, called “Lonely World,” a despondent lament with an ominous descending baseline and a simple message: It’s a cold, hard world out there. Despite his minimalistic presentation, Easter’s performance had larger-than-life energy throughout. Frequent use of Gypsy scales evoked old-world stoicism. His accordion sucked the club’s thick air in and out, lending an organ-like fullness to his solitary anthems. “Feelings Gone” was a highlight, channeling Chuck Berry and the British Invasion. The song’s hypnotic swing and anaphoric lyrical flow make it feel like the music will continue on forever. With “Feelings Gone,” the artist urges us to “connect to disconnect” from vapid political news streams.
A versatile multi-instrumentalist, Easter joined the headliners on keyboard, glockenspiel (!), and guitar for their set. Callum Easter’s and Young Fathers’ influences are very different from each other, but what they share is a strong resistance to classification. It’s easy to recognize their musical kinship.
On their new album Heavy Heavy, Young Fathers continue to experiment with sparkling textures, thickly harmonized vocals, and West African rhythms. The way they configure instruments on the stage reflects their spontaneous and collaborative approach to songwriting; a giant soundboard, a keyboard and glockenspiel, and two antiphonal drum stations were strewn about. In a recent Reddit AMA, G Hastings commented, “Writing process for this one was based around reactions. We wouldn’t start until we were all together in the room. [ ] Everything was already set up for capturing.” The writing on Heavy Heavy is tight, hooky, and arguably the band’s best work yet. In the studio, the trio aimed to capture lightning in a bottle, riding the momentum of each new idea.
In live performance, Young Fathers balance on the edge of frenzy as each song builds to new spiritual heights. The combined effect of their angelic voices, heartfelt spoken word, and infectious gyrating compel you out of your head and into your body. In fact, you better get to moving or the Fathers will give you the evil eye until you do. In the first song of their set, “Shoot Me Down,” the group’s collective sound was cathedralesque, owing to the iconic grandeur of Steven Morrison’s drumming and the addition of charismatic singer, Kimberly Mandindo. Lines like “We're having me a party, throw my ashes to the throng; Keep 'em dancing all night long” set an arresting tone for the night. During “The Queen is Dead,” Hastings, Bankole, and Mandindo faced away from the audience, giving Alloysious Massaquoi a dramatic spotlight for the song’s verses. Throughout the show, audience members were invited to add to the joyful noise; G Hastings initiated a powerful call-and-response before “Old Rock n Roll” and a sobering call for ceasefire before “Shame.”
Callum Easter and Young Fathers are both making art laden with apocalyptic emotional weight. Imagine Easter as a social pariah warning us of the end, his alarm falling on deaf ears. On the flip side, Young Fathers are the band you hire to play the final farewell rager. A celebration of life fit for the present time, the end times, or some dynamic blend of the two.
