Slowthai’s UGLY is a Hellish Joyride Through the Mind of a British Icon
By: Harry Sutton
With his 2019 debut project, Nothing Good About Britain, Slowthai — a.k.a. Northampton native Tyron Frampton — emerged as Britain’s new vanguard: refusing to accept the corporate, societal, and racial bullshit that he has seen plague his home throughout his life. With its release intentionally aligned with Brexit panic, the album saw Frampton dubbed NME’s “Hero of the Year”, only minutes before he was escorted out of the award show after a spat with an audience member. His sophomore release, 2021’s Tyron, didn’t incite the same awe as NGAB, but it showed Frampton’s ability to adapt to industry standards. Featuring help from the likes of A$AP Rocky, James Blake, and Dominic Fike, Slowthai cemented his place in the music industry while turning more personal with his songwriting. On his third studio album, UGLY, released March 3, Slowthai is both brash and poignant. He no longer whines about his ailments but instead basks in the glory of Brittania’s squalor and his self-flagellating demons.
On UGLY, Slowthai embraces the gore and grime of his life: honing in on his internal anguish as he spirals into insanity, while also detailing stories that highlight indulgence, violence, depression, and an impoverished British candidness.
On this tour through his lunatic psyche, Slowthai departs from many of the rap influences his previous works entailed. Unlike his two prior albums, UGLY doesn’t have any room for a Skepta feature, instead employing the likes of Irish post-punk’s Fontaines D.C., beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden, and Jockstrap’s Taylor Skye. UGLY heavily incorporates a strictly British tuneful rock reminiscent of The Kooks or The Fratellis, but it’s being lauded as a post-genre album, melding so many influences (i.e., EDM, grunge, post-punk) that it would be futile to list them all.
The intro track, “Yum,” welcomes the listener with an encouraging “You’re a king, you’re a queen, you’re a genius” before Tyron grows hedonistic and paranoid, screaming, “Excuse me while I self-destruct, ‘cause I don’t give a fuck.”
Frampton creates a magnetic yet daunting atmosphere with uplifting tunes tinged by this demented hedonism. On songs like “Selfish,” “Tourniquette,” and “Fuck It Puppet,” he viscerally spews scum and violently screams over convulsive instrumentals. The soundscape becomes a tunnel directly into his mind, which is tormented by screams, gasps, whispers, and cackles- pure capitulation.
Most of UGLY was produced by Kwes Darko and South London’s Dan Carey. Darko has worked with Slowthai since his first album, whereas Carey is a new addition. Carey has recently worked with many outstanding new artists, such as Wet Leg, Caroline Polacheck, and black midi. The only alternative to Slowthai’s lead vocals on the record comes from singer-songwriter Ethan P. Flynn, who adds a tuneful folk chorus on “Sooner” and resonant baritone vocals (which seem to press Ctrl+C on James Blake) on “Never Again.”
Despite the chaos that most of the music brings, UGLY also has its moments of intimacy and introspection. The track “Never Again” poignantly portrays Slowthai running into his ex, who he mutually still has feelings for, and learning about her new life with a baby-daddy and kids. Sometime later, he discovers that she was murdered by her husband in a domestic dispute, and he wrestles with the guilt of not reaching out to her. Track nine, “Falling,” asks for sympathy while Frampton details his feelings of listlessness and disconnect over a shimmering guitar riff. The title track is uncharacteristically calm, Slowthai’s delivery surprisingly comforting, as he reassures the listener, “the world is ugly.”