Diaspora Problems
by Soul Glo
  • Record Label: Epitaph
  • Release Date: Mar 25, 2022
Metascore
86

Universal acclaim - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 9
  3. Negative: 0 out of 9
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  1. Consequence
    Mar 25, 2022
    100
    Nothing is off limits, and it makes Diaspora Problems a delight to listen to. There’s not a lot of repetition, and for as immediate and spontaneous as the recordings are, every musical element and lyric comes off as hand-crafted and deliberate: all killer, no filler.
  2. Exclaim
    Mar 28, 2022
    90
    Exploring so many sub-genres of hardcore while simultaneously telling many different stories, Diaspora Problems vaults Soul Glo into the conversation as one of the most important heavy bands in 2022.
  3. Paste Magazine
    Mar 30, 2022
    88
    On Diaspora Problems, Soul Glo have caused a clearing in the forest with an album so boundless in its creativity that it cannot be ignored. This is the shape of hardcore that we had been promised.
  5. Pitchfork
    Mar 30, 2022
    85
    It’s a testament to the band’s ambitions and execution peaking in lockstep that Diaspora Problems can be appreciated as both a fully visceral experience and a cerebral one.
  6. Beats Per Minute
    Mar 25, 2022
    85
    An essential and enlivening record from start to finish.
  7. Sputnikmusic
    Apr 5, 2022
    84
    The sum total of their 2022 opus is a straight upgrade to SOUL GLO’s already brilliant back catalog, bursting with scorching new takes on old ideas and enough spirit and passion to set the entire scene ablaze.
  8. AllMusic
    Mar 25, 2022
    80
    Jordan's willingness to allow us inside his head and witness his insecurities and inner dialogue alongside his rage gives this a depth few hardcore bands will ever reach. If you want your ears kicked, Soul Glo can do that like few others, but Diaspora Problems confirms that's hardly the beginning and end of their talents.
  9. Glide Magazine
    Mar 25, 2022
    70
    The music is never afraid to insert something new, to a fault at times, as programmed beats, punk thrashing and groove metal clash on the schizophrenic “Coming Correct Is Cheaper”. ... Better is the overloaded “Thumbsucker” which pushes upbeat punk with hip hop influence, the screeching “We Wants Revenge” that kicks up to total blissful chaos, and “GODBLESSYALLREALGOOD” which fluctuates between screaming punk and hip hop breaks with an ease and dexterity rarely displayed in this style.
  10. Kerrang!
    Mar 31, 2022
    60
    The one thing holding Diaspora Problems back, save for its disappointing lack of hooks, is that it doesn’t exploit its strengths as fully as it might.

Awards & Rankings

29
#29 Best Album of 2022

User Reviews

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User Score
8.1

Universal acclaim- based on 21 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 19 out of 21
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 21
  3. Negative: 1 out of 21
  1. highballslider
    Mar 27, 2022
    10
    When I think of all the bands and genres that had to exist for this album to exist it blows my mind. I literally loved 12 out of 12 songs.When I think of all the bands and genres that had to exist for this album to exist it blows my mind. I literally loved 12 out of 12 songs. This Album is gonna be on repeat for quite a while.… Full Review »
  2. MusicGuyMack
    Apr 3, 2022
    10
    Though certainly something of an acquired taste, as its in-your-face intensity and aggression aren't likely to be to everyone's liking, theThough certainly something of an acquired taste, as its in-your-face intensity and aggression aren't likely to be to everyone's liking, the blistering scream-rapped vocals and ferociously propulsive punk instrumentals of "Diaspora Problems" nevertheless make for both an improbable but highly moshable match made in Heaven as well as a brutal and exhausting but ultimately rewarding listen and mark Soul Glo as a group to watch moving forward.

    Choice Cuts: "Coming Correct is Cheaper." "Jump! (Or Get Jumped!!!) ((by the future))," "(Five Years And) My Family," "The Thangs I Carry"    … Full Review »
  3. All_ButTrU4
    Mar 31, 2022
    7
    7.8/10
    This is what punk has been missing. Rocks seen an unfortunate decline in quality, urgency and politics. Originally punk was a vehicle    7.8/10
    This is what punk has been missing. Rocks seen an unfortunate decline in quality, urgency and politics. Originally punk was a vehicle for protest and provocation but it's been domesticated into vapid rifts and soulless rifts. That's not the case with this epic assault of noise that feels inspired by Barteese Strange inventive mix of a stereotypically black genre with a white adjacent one and presenting a successful compound ,this is mist apparent on the mad swagger of "Driponomics" that tackles trickledown economics and black disenfranchisement or on "jump!!" that takes an existential fall into identityand demand. Soul Glo are a furious body barreling from song to song with barely a break in between . As the title suggests the record explores the lives and problems of people who's families lineage was removed from it's homeland. Using it's rage to hold a mirror America would much rather leave shattered. Definitely essential listening for lovers of music and rock.    … Full Review »
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