The most exciting live band in Britain right now: Young Fathers, at the O2 Academy, reviewed

There are several reasons why Young Fathers currently feel like the most exciting live band in Britain, but for now let’s concentrate on effect rather than cause. The Edinburgh trio have somehow managed to dispense with all the froth and blather of concert-making – gratuitous chat; choreographed audience interaction; the fat and gristle – to deliver a show that is all attack. Every minute is a prime lean cut, direct and thrilling.

They don’t mess about during the first of two sold-out Glasgow shows, but then brevity appears to be a kind of manifesto. The new album, Heavy Heavy, their fourth and not quite their best, lasts barely 30 minutes. Tonight, they perform 17 songs in an hour. The set is similarly minimalist. A huge white curtain hangs crookedly at the back of the stage, against which the musicians cast looming shadows as they whirl around.

There is something of the old-school soul revue about the way Young Fathers assemble. Think a post-apocalyptic Temptations. The three members – Alloysious Massaquoi, Kayus Bankole and Graham ‘G’ Hastings – line up at the front of the stage, alongside two female singers. Behind them is a drummer. Stage right, support act Callum Easter plays keyboards and guitar. Stage left is a contraption that looks like some kind of 19th-century Hebridean loom.

From this they make a hugely exhilarating noise, an ugly-beautiful blend of beats, entwined vocals, melody and meaning. It’s never entirely clear where all the music is coming from. Apart from bashing an occasional drum, Massaquoi, Bankole and Hastings just sing, their blend of voices ranging from Tom Waits rasp to high, honeyed tones. The styles are fluid, a quick-changing mash-up of gospel, soul, rap, R&B and indie. The tonal shifts are extreme but never jarring.