Where Does a Body End…
This week’s New Music dives into the musical about-face that is slowthai’s third proper album, and how his rejection of beats in exchange for guitar-rock complements his turn from the outside world to the inner one.
UGLY
slowthai
Post-Punk / UK Hip Hop
Tyron Kaymone Frampton has been producing quality UK hip hop and grime for years. His 2019 debut as slowthai, Nothing Great About Britain, was a scathing critique of the politics and culture of the corrupt society that promoted Brexit, and all the fallout that decision has wreaked upon his home island. 2021’s TYRON saw him continue his pointed message, while also discussing more personal issues, such as his struggles with mental health. Both of these albums—showcasing slowthai’s ability to rap and rhyme about darker topics—were backed by hooks of the classic grime style: a garage-like production method featuring dark, fast-paced, aggressive beats.
UGLY is not grime. In fact, if it weren’t for slowthai’s continued use of his usual vocal delivery, you wouldn’t even know it was hip hop. In a complete remake of his sound, all the tracks here use an incredibly hard-edged post-punk: ripping basslines, pulsating live drums, and atmospheric guitar leads. And while the music backing slowthai has evolved, so have the topics he now focuses on.
Depression, anxiety, anger management, body dysmorphia, obsessive perfectionism, and self-hatred are all on the table here, and slowthai is able to deliver his story about dealing with them in varying creative ways, without resorting to woe-is-me, my-mom-ruined-my-life-because-she-grounded-me corniness. Hearing someone usually so aggressive be this vulnerable is both beautiful and tragic.
The musical change of style is obvious immediately, with opener “Yum”s glitchy Death Grips references building as slowthai’s anxiety increases because of an unhelpful therapist. By the end, noisy samples and a jackhammer beat are exploding their way into your ears, perfectly putting you in the same mental space as our protagonist.
“Feel Good” begins with a Gorillaz-esque fake-out, glitchy pop loops delivering the mantra of a person trying to will themselves into feeling better. But it gives way to a driving, bass-driven, punk set, brilliantly juxtaposed with glistening synths; the disparate nature of the instrumentals mirroring slowthai’s constant push to force himself well.
Personal favorite, “HAPPY,” delves into how far we all go to glimpse happiness, both in ourselves and in those we care about. The feeling is so fleeting, yet so necessary, that slowthai will do literally anything, including changing his personality and degrading his own health just to make himself experience joy, even for an instant (“I would give everything for a smile”). “HAPPY” is also UGLY at it’s most post-punk, the dark Television, Slowdive, and Have A Nice Life influences wearing heavy on the murky bass and guitars.
By the time we reach closer “25%,” slowthai has gone through quite the journey, an allegory for the difficult path we must take to make our mental state, if not “well”, at least functional; the plinking guitar and dotting drum pattern perfectly aligning with the calm resignation of slowthai’s delivery.
The year is still young, but UGLY is certainly the best hip hop album so far, in part because of the brilliant post-punk crossover, but mostly because of the sincerity and unceremonious fragility of slowthai’s lyrics and vocal delivery. UGLY inspires empathy, even while you rock out, and I would also hope it helps those who need it. We all feel ugly sometimes, but we can all help each other through. Be well, Tyron.
