UGLY - Slowthai: Review

Slowthai

is a British rapper who also dabbles in the styles of punk with his screamed vocals and distorted arrays of instrumentation. After his first album Nothing Great About Britain took on heavy political and societal themes he shifted the focus on 2020s Tyron a double LP that paired some of his normal bangers with some much more emotional and introspective songs on the second half. UGLY is a follow-up to that second half of Tyron, but applying that introspection to a much wider array of aesthetics.

Review by Lav:

While I did give Tyron a positive review when it came out, I can't say I was ever in love with the album and I'm not sure it's aged as gracefully as I had anticipated. These days I'm still much more likely to recommend Slowthai's debut, which is why I was a bit nervous to hear that this record was dipping into that more personal side of things, even though that half of Tyron was generally much more consistent than it's first. Even though this record mostly avoids any major pitfalls, I still think it's inconsistent quality and occasionally weak hooks hold it back.

There are certainly some highlights here, I still like the lead single Selfish which feels like the moment where Slowthai properly completes the transition from outward-facing social commentary to a more retrospective style. I also love the opening song Yum with its thunderous drums and intensity coming from both Slowthai's vocals and his story-telling which sets the stage for how earnest much of the album is. 

Never Again is a narrative highlight with an instrumental that's a bit cut and dry but it's in service of a great story. The tragedy suffered by one of Slowthai's ex-girlfriends makes for a powerful story whose details you should really just explore yourself. Another one of my favorite tracks here is Tourniquet which features Taylor Skye of Jockstrap and is fittingly one of the most spaciously mixed songs on the record featuring some of its coldest synths. It's also easily the best song on the second half of the record perfectly mirroring Slowthai's expressive angst with the icy instrumental palette and building up throughout to a killer finale. 

Even though there are some moments I don't mind like the short but chaotic Wotz Funny and the quieter finale 25% Club, the second half of the album is generally much weaker. UGLY features contributions from Fontaines D.C. which I didn't know the first few times I heard it but it makes sense to me now, because I don't really like the song. While the spelling in the chorus of HAPPY worked pretty well the hook on this song is totally deflating to everything. Falling is a good idea in concept the way it's sparse to simulate the actual feeling of falling or drifting away, but it doesn't make for a very compelling listening experience. 

The closest thing the album has to a big miss is the second single Feel Good, which might be my least favorite single Slowthai has ever released. It aims for similarly punky irreverence to a lot of the other songs in the first half but it's all obnoxious with no compelling refrains or songwriting to act as a filler and the results are just hard to swallow. 

So yeah, this album has its great moments but overall I think as a whole it's just as inconsistent as Tyron. I admire Slowthai pushing his instrumental palette further into the world of punk rock, as he has the versatility to pull it off, but the Achilles heel of some of the most interesting experiments on UGLY is the songwriting. Given how compelling of a performer Slowthai is and how willing he is to express his vulnerabilities I'll never stop being interested in what he does next. But after a debut that really knocked me off my feet, I've failed to be as impressed with either of the projects Slowthai has dropped since. 6/10 

Check out another rough-and-tumble British artist with my review of the new Shame album Food For Worms