Young Fathers / LAW @ Glasgow Stereo, 1 February
Hordes of disappointed faces can be seen streaming from Renfield Lane. They are the dozens who arrived at Stereo hoping that tickets would still be available for tonight’s Young Fathers show; the Edinburgh trio’s first live outing of 2014.
Downstairs, the venue is near capacity more than an hour before the headliners are due on stage. The paying public has got here early to see LAW, an Edinburgh-based solo artist who has released less than a handful of songs online. Despite sharing a producer with Young Fathers, her music is more minimalist and spectral-like, allowing her extraordinary vocals to come to the fore. Her deep, soulful voice hangs on the notes of standout track Haters, from new EP Haters and Gangsters. LAW is the antithesis of the 21st century television karaoke howler, where volume has been mistaken for power. Her vocals are measured and at times chilling in their emotive quality.
Just as the audience is digesting that performance, along come Young Fathers with an entrance so electrifying it’s likely to live long in the memory of all those here to see it. Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham Hastings power through a version of No Way – the opening track from new album Dead – that suggests this gig means more to them than a standard promo show.
The trio all command the stage and take turns in driving their Afro-soul rap sound. Bankole is the most energetic; Massaquoi takes the lead vocal on most tracks; and Hastings masters the beats and drinks in the energy. If that wasn’t enough, a percussionist has been added to the group to give them that extra edge. Excitement and energy can only bring you so far, however. What any audience thrives on is the music. When they finish the punchy Get Up, the crowd’s roar of approval must surely be heard from outside – and by all those who were unlucky enough to have missed out on this incendiary performance.