“Life is contrast,” said Young Fathers after releasing the first track from their newly-reunited recording sessions in 2022. Coming just under five years after the previous Cocoa Sugar, their fourth album Heavy Heavy exemplifies this wisdom perfectly, capturing life’s “tenderness in toil”. Calling back to the raw delivery of their breakthrough debut DEAD but with new eyes, the Edinburgh trio channel lofi DIY aesthetics and passionate emotionality into their ever expanding visions.

The energised performances of Young Fathers’ “uninhibited, open-ended studio sessions” in their basement space come through with a full bodied, exhilarating sound. Yet however you interpret the title of Heavy Heavy, from depicting suffocating times to visceral production, there’s a lot of light to be found across the album.

It’s precisely these contrasts that Heavy Heavy revels in, its gritty textures feeling right at home with brightness and warmth.  With a delicately thrilling balance between heavy and light, Heavy Heavy provides a refreshing take on Young Fathers’ uncompromising sound.