With the release of everyone’s Spotify Wrapped this week, I felt inclined to talk about my own Apple Music Replay. Fear not, I promise I have already put my pistol down regarding the rivalry between the two services (although I’ve had access to my Replay since February.) Today, I’ll talk about my top artist of 2023: Young Fathers.
Finding “the” Young Fathers
I was already on the runway to my obsession with Young Fathers in 2022. I knew them because of an interview of my trusty idol Noel Gallagher. Somehow I’d heard “Get Up” and “In My View” already and considered them very solid tunes. Then, (I would argue too) long in advance of their upcoming album, “Geronimo” was released on the 13th of July 2022.
It soared up my Apple Music Replay chart, ending 2022 in a highly respectable 12th place. I found the rest of the singles for “Heavy Heavy”, released on the 3rd of February 2023, equally as solid. By the second single’s release, I was firmly on the hook. It merely took a small yank to get me out the water.
Holy Moly!
Upon Heavy Heavy’s release, I stayed up until midnight to be able to listen to it straight away. To my delight, I was positively blown away. On first listen, the album tracks not featured as singles were equally as impactful – for me, Holy Moly stood out:
Don’t feel ready, ready to erect
Holy Moly, Young Fathers
My back’s still broken from all life’s effects
I still think about the words that you said.
A pounding backing track, interesting rhythm, and a monotone, layered vocal: I was listening. Next, a hoarsely whispered, poetic set of lines:
Place an image in your head,
The silver in your eyes.
I’m no longer having
Such a terrible time.
Holy Moly, Young Fathers
What follows is a rousing, rapid chorus which, the first time I listened, honestly nearly brought me to tears. I was struck by the music’s beauty (we’d all do well to remember that beauty is highly subjective!) I think it would make for an incredibly successful FIFA (EA FC) song, agreeing with one of the YouTube commenters.
Young Fathers: A deeper connection
Young Fathers, with Heavy Heavy, proved to me that a true, complete piece of art is possible when it comes to music. This might be blatantly obvious to many, with Mozart or Bach or whichever other masterpiece merchant you might choose to mention – but I’d never been utterly in love with an album like this before. I’m a lifelong dedicated Oasis fan, however my new love is most definitely here to stay. With Young Fathers, it sprouted out of the abyss and surpassed any expectations I might have had ten-fold.
Having listened to interviews from the band, it’s clear that my suspicions were correct: The album art and the music do have some sort of intrinsic connection. In this case, I believe I’m right in saying that the album cover is reflective of the feeling or vibe the music conveys. If you listened to Holy Moly above, you might start to be able to understand why the cover was designed like this:
This attention to detail, and the intense way in which I’m able to appreciate it, tells me I share something – in one way or another – with the artists in the band. I’m motivated to the same ends as they are, or perhaps we have a personality trait or two in common. It’s impossible to say.
However, what is certain is the way the music makes me feel – and, having spent over 8,000 minutes in 2023 listening to Young Fathers, the subsequent feeling of reassurance and relaxation that comes from the music now is formidable. It was one of my very own instant classics.
Music Complete
Due to the fact that it’s a visual representation of the music that I now so love, I’ve set this album cover as the wallpaper on every electronic device I own, Apple Watch included. I will delve deeper in to why I did this in one of the next posts, where I review my top album of 2023. No prizes for guessing what it is.
As the year closes, I have to reflect on the time I spent with Young Fathers. My obsession hit its peak as I was experiencing the most difficult time of my life. I got through it, though, and the album was on-repeat every day for months – Holy Moly standing out to me. When it’s all wrapped up, the proof is in the Replay:
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