Bleep

Slowthai has seen a lot in his relatively short time in the spotlight. From award show disasters and broken engagements to guesting on tracks made by his heroes, the past five years have been something of a whirlwind for Slowthai. Yet, through controversy and collaboration the Northampton rapper has thus far portrayed an above-it-all sort of attitude in his music. Often political in intent, Slowthai albums like Nothing Great About Britain and the eponymous TYRON have shown us a lot about what Tyron Frampton thinks about the world around him (and it’s mostly negative), but not an awful lot about Tyron himself. A self-proposed punk rocker at heart who just happens to rap, Slowthai has trickled out some clues here and there (namely the James Blake and Mount Kimbie featuring ‘Feel Away’ in tribute to his late brother), but generally has kept things close to the vest, until now.

UGLY, his latest LP for Method, is something of a tell-all, then. An acronym for U Gotta Love Yourself, Slowthai clicks even further into rock music here, singing (and singing about himself and the anxieties of a tough few years) at least as much as he raps for the very first time. It’s also his most engrossing effort yet. Tracks like the post-punky ‘Feel Good’ blend the lines between electronic music and rock in ways clearly learned from his time around Damon Albarn of Gorillaz, while the itchier ‘Selfish’ and ‘Falling’ lean into post-hardcore and slacker-y indie rock respectively. Time honoured influences for sure, but Slowthai comes at them from a unique perch, offering a new angle of old tricks, while conversely giving himself the proper vehicle to explore introspection in ways he couldn’t on prior releases. UGLY is clearly a turning point for an artist that for all the accolades seems to just be hitting his stride.