Roots Manuva - Bleeds
Critic Score
Based on 22 reviews
2015 Ratings: #94 / 1021
User Score
Based on 48 ratings
Liked by 2 people
October 30, 2015 / Release Date
LP / Format
Big Dada / Label
UK Hip Hop / Genre
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CRITIC REVIEWS

90
The Line of Best Fit

Bleeds is a concise and heavily focused record that can proudly sit in and amongst his best.

90
Loud and Quiet
As the beam of his creative torch falls, in turn, upon hip hop, grime, house and funk, he demonstrates a sonic sleight of hand that is unparalleled in modern UK music as a whole, never mind the narrow confines of hip hop.
90
musicOMH

In the press release for Bleeds, Smith says he called the album so because he is ready to bleed for his art. There is little doubt he has done that here, and that he holds this nation close to his heart – a heart so firmly on his sleeve we can see it there, beating. It’s what makes him so important to British music today.

80
The Independent
It’s good to find that Roots Manuva’s rhyming skills and wayward worldview remain largely unchanged on Bleeds, despite his relocation from inner-city London to suburban Surrey.
80
Clash
‘Bleeds’ isn’t a flawless album, but it is diverse and imaginative. As expected, Roots Manuva still manages to bring unique inventiveness to his work.
80
Exclaim!
Patient, socially conscious audiences will not only find it compelling, but galvanizing too.
80
The Skinny

Clocking in at less than 40 minutes, Bleeds is the shortest, but arguably most eclectic and intense Roots Manuva album to date, taking in everything from Four Tet-produced electronic jitterbugs (2:11), to morose retrospectives (I Know Your Face) and experimental soul (Don’t Breathe Out).

80
DIY
‘Bleeds’ bends and twists genres into more combinations than are possible on a Rubix cube; splicing hip-hop, techno and even classical in ways that make it one of the most original and emotionally charged British albums of the year.
80
NME
To borrow one of his old album titles, this is awfully deep.
60
The Guardian
The best songs paint him as guardian of the apocalypse, pairing his world-weary soulfulness with murky, mutant beats. Hopefully for the next album he’ll hang up his top hat and focus on those instincts instead.
funklildim
85

Прекраснейшие 40 минут томного альтернативного хип-хопа от ветерана этого самого хип-хопа из Британии - Рутс Манувы. В своём последнем на данный момент альбоме он выдержал уровень атмосферности и насыщенности. Взяло за душу, будет на репите!

Alanzed
82

On va pas se mentir, Roots Manuva est maintenant un daron et la charge d'authenticité qu'il a apporté au rap au tournant 2000 est maintenant loin derrière lui. Maintenant, cet album n'en reste pas moins excellent. Une ou deux écoutes suffisent au constat.

Pickyford
87

Este álbum tiene una muy buena producción y relfeja si portada, para mí, el mejor de manuva y uno de los escenciales para entrar al uk hip hop

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Added on: October 6, 2015