So yeah… I won’t lie, this new slowthai is insane. From the minute I heard the opener „Yum“ I knew this album was EXACTLY what I was looking for. I mean it’s got everything – from the experimental production, the punk elements, to incredibly heartfelt lyrics and vocals, insane energy throughout, this really feels like slowthai’s magnum opus. Not that he can’t do any better than this, but this is easily my favorite of release of his up to this point.
And probably the best representation of that would be as I already metioned previously the opening track „Yum“ which is easily the best opening track of any album this year hands down, like no competition. It opens up with these abrasive swirling synths that are accompanied by a bunch of fast-paced heavy kickdrums that togeether create this beautiful messy amulgamation of sound over which slowthai repeats the mantra „I’ve been lacking motivation I need an intervention“ setting up one of the album’s main themes. It all feels very dark, very depressed, very hollow and yet super energetic, it’s a sound that slowthai was going for many times in the past but truly mastered on this track in my eyes. In the following spoken-word section he goes over his mental struggles, how he doesn’t feel in control and how therapy has only been adding fuel to the fire that’s building up inside of him. When the song finally kicks in it REALLY kicks in – the twisted glitched sound effects only add onto the dark atmosphere that this track builds and the instrumental drop has to be one of the most rewarding moments of the entire album and that’s just the opening track. Finally the song ends with slowthai having what’s essentially a complete mental breakdown. That also leads perfectly into the next track „Selfish“ another one of my favorites – this one has a much more clear structure but the instrumental is just so catchy I can’t get over it. The guitar lick is strangely mysterious and compiments the otherwise rather harsh instrumental really well – the glitched sound effect that’s being repeated is also a really nice touch. And the instrumental breakdown at the end is just the complete cherry on top, no wonder this one was a single, it’s such an earworm. Next up is the song „Sooner“ which is , I’m already getting sick of saying, but really great. The instrumental is once again instantly recognizable and I really appriciate how natural yet also very robotic everything sounds here. The lyrics on this one are also really morbid at points – it only continues the rabbithole that this whole album embodies even further. After that comes the single „Feel Good“ which to the surprise of noone is a very feel-good song but is more of like a calm before the storm. The song is fine but is very one-note and doesn’t change throughout it’s runtime at all – I guess that’s kinda the point but still, for such a promising song it leaves a lot to be desired but whatever, it doesn’t like ruin the album or anything. Anyways after this we have the song „Never Again“ which is probably the saddest song on the entire album, at least for me it was – the story he portrays here is just so vivid and you can really hear the pain in his voice over loosing this other person, every other line in this song just cuts deep like a sharp knife. The sampled instrumental is also really soothing and fitting for the story, this one’s just a real tear-jerker. After that comes the interlude „Fuck It Puppet“ which is an insane song for it’s runtime, like for just a one minute song to first of all go this hard and second of all to go through one of the most lyrically dense and draining moments on the album. And the harshness just keeps on going from there – the next song „HAPPY“ is ironically kinda like the opposite of „Feel Good“, this song is like the pure musical embodiment of desperation. The repeated „I would give everything for a smile“ chant in the chorus alway manages to cut deep especially with the guitar that’s added in the last stretch of the song, just another completely stunning and haunting song. Which is coincidentally also the perfect description of the following song „UGLY“ – this one has an especially rough mix which is however very much intentional as it gives the song a really strong sense of urgency and complete despair, it’s harsh, it’s real, it’s well… Ugly. The spelling in the chorus would otherwise by really annoying as I tend to release dislike this trend in music, but here it somehow blends in perfectly and I don’t mind it in the slightest. After this we have the song „Falling“ which is honestly up to this point probably the first real dud in the tracklist for me – not to say it’s bad per se, just compared to the other songs this one doesn’t really bring anything new to the table. Like at least „Feel Good“ was really catchy, this one just sort of exists, even though the screaming at the end is admittedly really powerful nonetheless but the song overall works rather as an interlude of sorts, at least that’s how I see it. Anyways after that we have the really punk and energetic „Wotz Funny“. And yeah, this one’s kinda a rager – I especially enjoy the way the guitars are mixed here and the adlibs on the chorus feel almost improvised, the punk energy on this one is just through the roof and I love every second of it, I just wish it was a bit longer. Anyways next up is „Tourniquet“ and if anything is the emotional climac of the album it’s this – the instrumental this time around is really somber and soothing with lush piano melodies and spacey synths however slowthai delivers what’s probably his rawest vocal delivery maybe even on the entire record – this contrast between him and the rest of the song feels really powerful and it’s honestly one of my favorite moments on the entire record. And finally we arrive at the closing track „25% Club“ is essentially just a guitar plucking ballad with just slowthai pouring his heart out over well… Everything. It’s another really powerful piece to the puzzle and even though it’s a really calm closer for such an energetic, all over the place and chaotic album. it fits strangely well. And slowthai’s singing is legitemately beautiful here aswell – I don’t know man, I just really like it, even though it may not be the most ambitious song on the whole album and it’s a really obvious choice for a closer it just works and makes the whole thing really complete which is all that matters at the end of the day.
Tu wrap it all up, this album is for the lack of a better word just amazing. Probably my favorite album of the year so far – it’s demented and twisted, yet beautiful and cathartic, chaotic and unhinged, yet calculated and very precise, it’s basically everything I could have wanted from a new slowthai release and it really surpassed any and all expectations I had for it. Give it a spin if you haven’t yet, you can thank me later.
-favorite tracks: YUM, Selfish, Sooner, Never Again, Fuck It Puppet, HAPPY, UGGLY, Wot Funny, Tourniquet, 25% Club
-least favorite tracks: Falling (if i had to choose one)
Light 9/10