slowthai’s NEW ALBUM UGLY OUT NOW
Stream/Buy HERE
WATCH: a visual playlist for the album HERE
Announces UGLY Pop-up shop in London March 4 & 5
“on Ugly, he’s succeeded in minting a sound that’s entirely his own: severe, noisy, occasionally punishing…Ugly is an album that carves out its own space: messy but vital, it deserves to be huge.” The Guardian *****
“‘UGLY’ is a warts-and-all reckoning, his most exhilarating project to date from front to back.”
NME *****
"A powerful journey into the heart of greatness…Tyron Frampton cements his position as one of British rap's true greats.”
Rolling Stone UK ****
"It’s a masterstroke as far as Slowthai is concerned... I'm struggling to think of a contemporary artist who pulls off this mix of the sublime and the ridiculous to such great effect.”
i Paper ****
"UGLY is a powerful and direct transmission from a brilliant, beleaguered brain."
The Independent ****
3 MARCH 2023 (TORONTO, ON) – slowthai’s third studio album UGLY is released today on Method Records/Universal Music Canada. Following his Mercury Music Prize nominated and much lauded debut Nothing Great About Britain and his chart-topping sophomore album TYRON where he turned the lens inward, UGLY looks set to flip the narrative on the UK’s most exhilarating musical talents once again.
Produced by Dan Carey at his home studio in South London alongside frequent collaborator Kwes Darko and further production work from Zach Nahome and Sega Bodega, UGLY (u gotta love yourself) brings slowthai’s love of rock, indie and punk to the forefront and features a fluid combination of musicians including Ethan P. Flynn, Shygirl, Jockstrap’s Taylor Skye, Beabadoobee guitarist Jacob Bugden, drummer Liam Toon, and on the dark and woozy title track, his friends Fontaines D.C.
Preceded by singles "Selfish" and "Feel Good" (watch the BTS HERE) - both of which launched with contrasting but equally affecting videos displaying yet again slowthai’s versatility both musically and creatively - you’d be some kind of soothsayer if you could second guess this man's next move. slowthai has also filmed visualizers/videos for every song on the album - check out the visual playlist HERE.
To celebrate the album’s release and coming off the back of a short, sharp 6 date gig run of local pubs and small venues across the country getting very up close and personal with his supporters, slowthai has announced the UGLY pop-up shop at Truman Brewery in London this weekend. Partnering with Rough Trade, slowthai will be at the shop all day March 4th, signing copies of UGLY and meeting fans. Exclusive merch will be available from the archive along with items from music videos and artwork such as the stocks from Nothing Great About Britain, and the decapitated Boris Johnson head that he pulled out of a bag during his performance at the Mercury Music Prize Awards, all on display.
Current single "Feel Good" is rightly playlisted across both BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music and on wednesday, slowthai played a show at the 150 capacity The George Tavern in London. Today tickets for his UK leg of the UGLY WORLD TOUR went on general sale which includes, in stark contrast, the 10,000 capacity Alexandra Palace in the same city for September 22nd. Supported by Nia Archives and Sainté, the UK/EU stretch kicks off in Glasgow before rolling through Manchester, London, Birmingham, Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels.
Pulling himself apart and exposing his anxieties of the last couple of years is key to this phase of slowthai. The UGLY album cover is suitably up close and personal, with the camera zooming in tight on the left side of his face. The title of the album — an acronym for U Gotta Love Yourself — is freshly tattooed beneath his eye. Musically, this new album may show a side of him that people haven’t heard before but he sees it as the fullest picture yet. “The first album was the sound of where I’m from and everything I thought I knew,” he says. “The second album is what was relevant to me at that moment in time, the present. And this album is completely me — about how I feel and what I want to be… it’s everything I’ve been leading up to.”
“It doesn’t matter what or who people think you are, you’ve just got to stay true and respect yourself. I have UGLY tattooed on my face because it’s a reminder to love myself, rather than put myself down constantly or feel the impression people have of me should determine who I am as a person.”
UGLY world tour - UK/EU Dates
20/09 – Barrowland Ballroom - Glasgow
21/09 – O2 Victoria Warehouse - Manchester
22/09 – Alexandra Palace - London
23/09 – O2 Academy - Birmingham
27/09 – Elysee Montmarte - Paris, France
28/09 – Paradiso - Amsterdam, Netherlands
29/09 – Metropol - Berlin, Germany
30/09 – AB - Brussels, Belgium
UGLY tour tickets HERE
Stream/Buy UGLY HERE
UGLY Tracklisting:
Yum
Selfish
Sooner
Feel Good
Never Again
Fuck It Puppet
HAPPY
UGLY
Falling
Wotz funny
Tourniquet
25% Club
FOLLOW SLOWTHAI:
TWITTER | INSTAGRAM | FACEBOOK | YOUTUBE