In support of his recent third album, UGLY, Northampton music rebel slowthai took the new batch of guitar-driven, punk-inspired bangers out for a series of small, intimate shows as part of the Jägermeister Best Night Of Your Life pub tour.
Fans in Sunderland, Blackpool, Milton Keynes, London, Bath and Northampton were given the chance to grab a ticket for just £1 (and we understand a few ice-cold shots of Jägermeister were served as well). Packing fans into small local boozers with capacities not much greater than 100 or so, it was a far cry from the massive venues and festivals of his usual tours. Performing the album in venues so small you can see the whites of his eyes, it was a fitting way to launch what is possibly his most personal and raw album to date.
The artist born Tyron Frampton released the album on March 3 as a follow-up to his 2021 sophomore LP, the introspective rap set TYRON, and his 2019 debut, Nothing Great About Britain. Produced by Dan Carey with long-time collaborator Kwes Darko (plus contributions from Zach Nahome and Sega Bodega), UGLY sees the rapper look deeper within himself, but it’s as noisy as ever and comes with even more of a punk edge than past releases.
He first announced the album back in January with a video performance piece where he sat in solitude in a clear perspex box with nothing but his own thoughts to keep him company. That idea of introspection proved to be a central theme on the album, which is all about slowthai looking deep within himself and reckoning with all his anxieties and the sides of himself he isn’t comfortable with.
“The first album was the sound of where I’m from and everything I thought I knew,” said slowthai of UGLY. “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.”