Only time will tell as to whether Edinburgh hip-hop trio Young Fathers' Mercury Award success will result in a similar sales boom to that of Alt J or Elbow.
What can be deduced is that their first full-length effort inventively surpasses most hip-hop records of today, and lead single "Low" is the perfect introduction to the group.
Opening with a hovering electronic drone, the air is left hazy for a few seconds, before 'G' Hastings' vocals cut cleanly through, striking the first major chord of the song. It's a voice that's a head turner, a leader's voice. With the melody established, more comes without warning, and "Low" subtly begins to grow.
As Hastings belts out the line, the message of the song becomes clearer: "Mmm did I see you planting seeds in the forest, is it for the green of the dollars? Now don't go telling me it's for the needs of the poorest." This tells you all you need to know about Young Fathers' political agenda.
With sumptuous production, the entrance of rapper Alloysious Massaquoi builds up the pace, a monotone mantra that's hard to ignore. The song is so layered that you can discover new things in both the lyrics and the backing after multiple listens. For example, the dissonant staccato element brought in toward the end of the song, which could easily be the plucked strings of a piano, bring a brief unrest to an otherwise comfortable setup.
The sound of Young Fathers is clearly variable, but here they touch on both the glorious and the disturbed.
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