Young Fathers - 'Tape Two' [EP stream]

Stream the second release of the year from one of the UK's most free-thinking rap groups.

After far too much silence, Young Fathers thankfully resurfaced around the start of the year with the re-release of ‘Tape One’, a rambunctious collection of open-eyed lo-fi rap sketches: all packed in a colourful cocktail of wide-reaching influences. The follow-up, ‘Tape Two’, features their first fresh material for a few years, and has just been premiered over at Dazed Digital. The new release is the sound of a group further ascertaining just exactly what it is they’re about. Opener I Heard’s cathartic soul feels like the trio at their most thoughtful, Queen Is Dead’s scrappy beat trips over into an intense meltdown, and Way Down In The Hole contrasts an exuberant hook with squinting, swivel-eyed bars to glorious effect.

In the best way possible, listening to Young Fathers can sometimes feel like the (increasingly retro) experience of freely riding through a radio’s frequencies, with all the intriguing mismatches and unexpected turns that came with it. ‘Tape Two’ affirms that few UK rap groups are even attempting to go about things like this trio at the minute.