Am I biased because they're Welsh? Yes.

Cymru am byth conts

Lyrical Strally, member of the trio YGG, has really come into his own in 2020. This project is a really fun listen that uses grime as a solid foundation to branch off into wider hip hop sounds and even aspects of R&B. Whilst those experimentations are decent, the real strength of Strally is his bars over higher energy old school grime beats. He is direct and quick witted, mixing up his flow depending on the beat. There is some really clever world play on here, but most importantly it is ... read more

Wasn't as impressed as I wanted to be. Feel like it takes on too much at once with very middling results. And how many gun sound effects are on this? It became a bit bland and repetitive despite the knee-jerking switches between genres. There's potential on here, for sure, but I was kinda expecting a bit more.

Is this even alt. R&B at this point? It just sounds like formulaic trap rap

You're provoking me, Jockstrap

I enjoyed the purer dance and disco pop tracks, which dominate the early tracks, but the fucking tendency to just have a house/edm style drop on every song got so fucking boring. Since when it been a bout playing to expectations with Gaga? I constantly could predict when a shitty drop was coming from after 20 seconds on a track.

The further movement away from Art-Pop is annoying, because I never felt any of that on this. Replace the house/edm aspects with more art-pop features, and I feel the ... read more

I was a bit worried that Aitch was going to lean more towards trap-rap on this with the American producers, but this is a fun little project that has it's feet firmly in the UK scene. Every track brings something different, but they all share a decent level of energy. Not perfect - Aitch's flow rarely switches up, and some tracks repeat the chorus way too much, but for an EP its good.

Rah this is the best grime project I've heard this year. It is 100% pure Grime, with some old school beats and jungle vibes, to some more modern leaning tracks. Pepper Stew is one of the best tracks I've heard this year, some of the bars on here are crazy good. I think the fact that this is Footsie's first proper LP after 16 years has helped his standing in the game, but he is one of the reasons the genre is where it is now. Really recommend checking this out - if you haven't heard much Grime, ... read more

KSI’s debut LP fails to nail down a specific style and voice for the youtuber-turned-boxer-turned-rapper, relying heavily on big name features and autotune in an attempt to spice up a bland offering.

The 1975 have finally released the much awaited follow up to An Inquiry Into Modern Relationships – a meandering, confused mess that doesn’t know what to do with itself.

Some interesting concepts here. Very much a mixed bag. When the beat kicks in on About Me, it is way too loud, really obnoxious. Same again with the beat change. Both about me and sounds of a broken studio have really abrupt ends, as if they were unfinished. On Pity, the mix needs a bit of work - the bird noises are way too loud and in your face, they work well with a decent string instrumental. They do get a bit repetitive but if they were mixed better that would be less of a concern. I really ... read more

I mean, credit to Calvin for returning back to this sort of sound. He's been so far removed from the scene, and whilst this isn't exactly groundbreaking he hasn't really lost it. Felt Hypnagogic was the better of the two tracks, but I don't see the point of the edits A) Going first in the track listing and B) being on this.

Like a remix would have been fine, but the creativity is a bit lacklustre. All around okay.

Very, very accessible rock music, that leans towards pop and of course electronic influences. After all, it is AWOLNATION. Here Come the Grunts, their last LP, felt a lot closer to 2020 than it is, but I was pleasantly surprised to hear this either way. I place it just below their last effort, but these guys have their spot in the rock spectrum, and the fill it just fine.

Unfortunately, even after the 6 listens I've had of this album, I can't really say that I am a massive fan of it. The production, technical ability, all 100% spot on. The themes are consistent throughout, and so is the sound. But it just doesn't resonate with me. As an experience, this is splendid, but once I put it down, I kinda forget about it all. But I can see where everyone else is coming from - objectively, in my opinion, this is a fantastic album. Subjectively? A different story. Maybe ... read more

You may have noticed I have rated all six of these EPs a 0. I've never given any other project a 0. But these are scoreless, because they are pointless. This is just a slap in the face of most artists and musicians around the world. These all could have been playlists. This is just whoring a shitty album out to make as much money as possible. It is creatively and morally bankrupt. Like you could have sent these out to numerous producers to make remixes! That is an established move, and I ... read more

Yooo this is the first stand-out UK R&B and Soul I have heard this year. In fact just an EP, this could easily be an LP. The concept and themes throughout are concise and consistent, are Pip's voice is heavenly yet grounded on earth. I admire that this wasn't bloated with unrelated tracks to make it a full length EP - the ideas are executed well, and any filler would have stood out. Really recommend sitting down and giving this a go.

I really admire the lyrics and message of Like It Like ... read more

Bland, derivate and just sounds like James Bay's cousin. Safe, middling songs that don't evoke any strong emotions.

There's enough interesting ideas on here, they just feel very rough at the edges at best, poorly executed at worst. Overall, I appreciate the blend of hip-hop aspects and more indie-rock features. As a debut EP? Certainly isn't the worst I've heard, and my lasting thoughts from this is that there is potential from KennyHoopla.

Track by track review: https://bit.ly/3bKzYJY

This is sensational. No wonder these guys are going to share a stage with Parquet Courts. Normally when a project swerves from genre to genre, I get a bit put off, but this album gives every idea its all.

With the numerous different singers and play time given to each individual instrument throughout, this feels like a labour of love. It is honestly so well crafted. Really recommend trying this out.

Overall a very bland listen, with nothing really catching me or standing out. The sound levels on Pieces were a bit off - randomly gets louder near the end, but the production as a whole isn't poor by any stretch of the imagination. Just very forgettable.