Heavy Heavy

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Heavy Heavy
Studio album by
Young Fathers
Released3 February 2023
Studio
  • Out of the Blue (Leith)
  • Narcissus Studio (London)
  • Northwind (Durban)
Length32:35
LabelNinja Tune
ProducerGraham "G" Hastings
Young Fathers chronology
Cocoa Sugar
(2018) 		Heavy Heavy
(2023)
Singles from Heavy Heavy
  1. "Geronimo"
    Released: 12 July 2022
  2. "I Saw"
    Released: 20 October 2022
  3. "Tell Somebody"
    Released: 6 December 2022
  4. "Rice"
    Released: 9 January 2023

Heavy Heavy is the fourth studio album by the Scottish indie group Young Fathers. It was released by Ninja Tune on 3 February 2023. The album was shortlisted for the 2023 Mercury Prize,[1] won the Scottish Album of the Year Award,[2] and was nominated for British Album of the Year at the Brit Awards.[3]

Recording[edit]

Heavy Heavy was produced by Graham "G" Hastings with additional production by Iain Berryman. It was recorded at three different studios: Out of the Blue Music Studios in Leith; Narcissus Studio in London; and Northwind in Durban, South Africa.[4]

"Sink or Swim" features a sample replay produced by Richard Adlam and Hal Ritson for Replay Heaven.[4]

Release[edit]

On 12 July 2022, the band released the single "Geronimo", their first new music in four years.[5] The album was officially announced on 20 October 2022, alongside a second single "I Saw" and a music video directed by Austrian-Nigerian artist David Uzochukwu.[6] A third single, "Tell Somebody", was released on 6 December 2022 with another Uzochukwu-directed music video.[7] "Rice", the fourth and final single, was released on 9 January 2023, also with a Uzochukwu-directed visual.[8] It was released by Ninja Tune on 3 February 2023.

Critical reception[edit]

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
DIY[11]
Exclaim!8/10[12]
Mojo[13]
NME[14]
The Observer[15]
Pitchfork7.5/10[16]
The Scotsman[17]
Uncut8/10[18]

Heavy Heavy was met with critical acclaim. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from professional publications, the album received an average score of 86, based on 17 reviews.[9]

Anthony Boire of Exclaim! gave the album an 8 out 10 rating, writing, "Heavy Heavy may be a little too sweet for long-time listeners, but its massive choruses, strong hooks and ecstatic sound too timely and too powerful to deny."[12] Loud and Quiet Mag gave the album 9/10, calling it "a brilliant return from a gold-standard band in UK music".[19] The Scotsman gave the album 4/5, writing Heavy Heavy "is delivered with mic-drop confidence, encased in another striking sleeve, redolent of partying with claws out".[17]

Reviewing the album for AllMusic, Andy Kellman noted that, "Heavy Heavy pulls in the listener with an empathetic lust for life that, whether brimming with optimism, steeling for a threat to survival, or reckoning with a perceived futility of existence, somehow never wavers."[10] For DIY Magazine, Sean Kerwick described it as, " Unique, raw and totally joyous."[11] In the review for NME, Dhruva Balram declared that, "Heavy Heavy is a passionate, soulful and often mesmerising work that will stick around long past the first listen. Succinct and underpinned by a catchy melodic structure, it continues Young Fathers’ peerless run of singular albums and further cements them as one of the more unique acts to exist today."[14]

Writing for Pitchfork, Will Pritchard stated that, "Heavy Heavy sweeps its listener along, churchlike, and conveys the feeling that resisting the urge will always feel worse than rising up and pushing the air from your lungs. And then, after a brief 10 tracks, it's all over—as if the procession has marched on, out of earshot. But the invite is still there extended: It's up to you whether to accept it or not."[16]

Year-end lists[edit]

Select year-end rankings of Heavy Heavy
Publication/critic Accolade Rank Ref.
Clash Albums of the Year 2023
5
[20]
Consequence The 50 Best Albums of 2023
33
[21]
DIY Albums of the Year 2023
4
[22]
The Independent The 30 Best Albums of 2023
9
[23]
Mojo The 75 Best Albums of 2023
5
[24]
musicOMH Top 50 Albums of 2023
3
[25]
NME The Best Albums of 2023
3
[26]
PopMatters The 80 Best Albums of 2023
5
[27]
The Skinny Albums of 2023
1
[28]
The Sunday Times The 20 Best Albums of 2023
11
[29]

Track listing[edit]

All tracks are written by Kayus Bankole, Graham "G" Hastings and Alloysious Massaquoi, except where noted

Heavy Heavy track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Length
1."Rice" 2:39
2."I Saw" 3:27
3."Drum" 3:38
4."Tell Somebody" 3:10
5."Geronimo" 3:33
6."Shoot Me Down" 3:28
7."Ululation"
  • Kayus Bankole
  • Graham "G" Hastings
  • Alloysious Massaquoi
  • Tapiwa Mambo
2:53
8."Sink or Swim" 3:04
9."Holy Moly" 3:29
10."Be Your Lady" 3:14
Total length:32:35

Personnel[edit]

Charts[edit]

Chart performance for Heavy Heavy
Chart (2023) Peak
position
Australian Digital Albums (ARIA)[30] 23
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[31] 73
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[32] 98
Irish Albums (IRMA)[33] 84
Scottish Albums (OCC)[34] 2
UK Albums (OCC)[35] 7

References[edit]

  1. ^ Snapes, Laura (27 July 2023). "Mercury Prize 2023: Arctic Monkeys tie Radiohead's record for most nominations". The Guardian. Retrieved 28 July 2023.
  2. ^ Coe, Oliver (27 October 2023). "Young Fathers win Scottish album of the year". BBC Music. Retrieved 27 October 2023.
  3. ^ "Nominees". BRIT Awards. Retrieved 8 March 2024.
  4. ^ a b Heavy Heavy (liner notes). Young Fathers. Ninja Tune. 2023. ZEN285.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  5. ^ Shutler, Ali (12 July 2022). "Listen to Young Fathers' 'Geronimo', their first new track in four years". NME. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  6. ^ Ruiz, Matthew Ismael (20 October 2022). "Young Fathers Announce New Album Heavy Heavy, Share Video for New Song: Watch". Pitchfork. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  7. ^ Brasil, Sydney (6 December 2022). "Young Fathers Share New Single "Tell Somebody"". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  8. ^ Breihan, Tom (9 January 2023). "Young Fathers – "Rice"". Stereogum. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  9. ^ a b "Heavy Heavy by Young Fathers Reviews and Tracks". Metacritic. Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  10. ^ a b Kellman, Andy (3 February 2023). "Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy Album Reviews, Songs & More". AllMusic. Retrieved 16 February 2023.
  11. ^ a b Kerwick, Sean (1 February 2023). "Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy". DIY. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  12. ^ a b Boire, Anthony (31 January 2023). "Young Fathers Are Bigger and Brighter Than Ever on 'Heavy Heavy'". Exclaim!. Retrieved 1 February 2023.
  13. ^ Doyle, Tom (March 2023). "Superfly Weight". Mojo. No. 352. p. 88.
  14. ^ a b Balram, Dhruva (3 February 2023). "Young Fathers – 'Heavy Heavy' review: anthemic, boundary-breaking pop". NME. Retrieved 3 February 2023.
  15. ^ Kalia, Ammar (5 February 2023). "Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy". The Observer. Retrieved 6 February 2023.
  16. ^ a b Pritchard, Will (7 February 2023). "Young Fathers: Heavy Heavy Album Review". Pitchfork. Retrieved 7 February 2023.
  17. ^ a b Shepherd, Fiona (27 January 2023). "Album reviews: Young Fathers | Hifi Sean & David McAlmont | Kirsten Adamson". The Scotsman. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  18. ^ Richards, Sam (March 2023). "Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy". Uncut. No. 310. p. 36.
  19. ^ Gatward, Tristan (30 January 2023). "Young Fathers - Heavy Heavy - Album Review". Loud and Quiet. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  20. ^ Connor, Christopher (13 December 2023). "Albums Of The Year 2023". Clash. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  21. ^ Kaye, Ben (4 December 2023). "The 50 Best Albums of 2023 Ranked". Consequence. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  22. ^ Wright, Lisa (7 December 2023). "DIY's Albums of the Year 2023". DIY. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  23. ^ Beaumont, Mark (15 December 2023). "The 30 best albums of 2023, from Olivia Rodrigo to Lana Del Rey". The Independent. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  24. ^ "The 75 Best Albums of 2023". Mojo. No. 362. January 2024. p. 57.
  25. ^ Hubbard, Michael (8 December 2023). "musicOMH's Top 50 Albums Of 2023". musicOMH. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  26. ^ Smith, Thomas (8 December 2023). "The best albums of 2023". NME. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  27. ^ Morgan, Tom (8 December 2023). "The 80 Best Albums of 2023". PopMatters. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  28. ^ Bhadani, Anita (8 December 2023). "The Skinny's Albums of 2023". The Skinny. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  29. ^ Cairns, Dan; Dean, Jonathan (3 December 2023). "The 20 best albums of 2023 — the critics' choice". The Sunday Times. Archived from the original on 3 December 2023. Retrieved 18 December 2023.
  30. ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 13 February 2023". The ARIA Report. No. 1719. Australian Recording Industry Association. 13 February 2023. p. 10.
  31. ^ "Ultratop.be – Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 12 February 2023.
  32. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Young Fathers – Heavy Heavy" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
  33. ^ "Irish Albums Chart: 10 February 2023". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  34. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 11 February 2023.
  35. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 10 February 2023.
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