Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 16
  2. Negative: 0 out of 16
Buy Now
Buy on
  1. Mar 3, 2023
    100
    slowthai’s newest is the work of an artist clearly more excited than ever about what he himself can do now he’s booted his own doors wide open. ‘UGLY’ is a beautiful thing to behold.
  2. 100
    A warts-and-all reckoning, his most exhilarating project to date from front to back.
  3. Mar 2, 2023
    100
    Ugly is an album that carves out its own space: messy but vital, it deserves to be huge.
  4. Mar 6, 2023
    92
    UGLY is a headlong tumble into deep waters, careening sharply off the edges of decency and screaming out for meaning as it goes, arse over teakettle into the unknown. Follow it down if you want, just untie that rope around your waist before you do: this is the kind of fall you take at terminal velocity or not at all.
  5. Mar 9, 2023
    80
    UGLY certainly isn’t a pleasant listen, and at various points it’s too extreme to be categorised as rap or rock, but many of these tracks are brilliantly executed and their emotional power and impact put Slowthai in a unique position.
  6. Mar 3, 2023
    80
    Ugly explores the rapper's newly formed duality, deepening his songcraft and letting the raging flame dim to a white-hot ember; it's his most reflective album to date.
  7. 80
    Ugly makes for difficult listening in places, but that’s not to say it isn’t often brilliant. Experimental, disarmingly honest and conceptually tight, blending rap, alt-rock and electronica, there’s no denying that Frampton is putting in the work.
  8. 80
    UGLY is a powerful and direct transmission from a brilliant, beleaguered brain.
  9. 80
    With a wholehearted desire to make music purely for himself, UGLY displays an artistic freedom regained, reconnecting with what drew him to music in the first place. It’s a creative direction that will most likely not stick around, but that’s what makes it that bit more authentic.
  10. Mar 2, 2023
    80
    It's clearly a challenging, confrontational album, but it also feels like the artist's purest expression yet.
  11. Mar 8, 2023
    75
    UGLY is surely his most intense, unvarnished, unrelenting personal excavation
  12. Mar 28, 2023
    70
    It hurts me to say different choices in terms of the production would have made it more accessible, because I respect his intent to be inaccessible here. If I have to sum it up and put a bow on it, I think “UGLY” is an album that will probably be appreciated more 25 years from now than it is today.
  13. Mar 6, 2023
    70
    Despite its allusions to seeking therapy, listening to the album feels like accompanying a friend on a disastrous Saturday night bender.
  14. Mar 2, 2023
    70
    A bold attempt to embrace his contradictions, this is a project held together by the brutal strength of slowthai’s performances.
  15. Mar 24, 2023
    56
    The best boundary-pushers use parts of their own style to traverse new musical territory. While tracks like “Sooner” are a success, UGLY doesn’t manage to complete the journey.
  16. Mar 8, 2023
    55
    Ugly sounds like something far less interesting: the sort of generically angsty guitar music that only a ’90s major label executive could love.
User Score
8.7

Universal acclaim- based on 39 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 39
  2. Negative: 1 out of 39
  1. Mar 4, 2023
    10
    On this album, Slowthai really demonstrates how he has evolved and mastered his sound of Hip-Hop fused with the energy and angst of BritishOn this album, Slowthai really demonstrates how he has evolved and mastered his sound of Hip-Hop fused with the energy and angst of British Post Punk and the result is truly a unique album. At times the album is completely unhinged, in a great way, the tight production really helps keep these areas focused before leading into the next section. This album is a wild ride and also gives a very personal look into the life and psyche of Tyron. Full Review »
  2. Mar 5, 2023
    10
    Slowthai's most raw and emotional performance yet. This album has solidified my love for his music and artistry.
  3. Mar 3, 2023
    9
    UGLY throws some great bops and some of slowthai's most raw. emotional and unhinged material to date.