Babyfather - 8/10

Preceded by fake Idris Elba quotes about nationalist pride and arriving adorned in that artwork, the debut album from mysterious group Babyfather features frontman Dean Blunt’s devilish humour by the bucketload. But like all the best satire, it’s also steeped in grit and realness.

A paranoid atmosphere is built up by emergency sirens and baby screams. Blunt’s vocals and droll samples of the voice of DJ Escrow then swipe at the elitist language of patriotism, tackling themes of civic discord (“Who the fuck do you know around here?”) and directionlessness (“What you gonna do when a dealer’s being long?”) among the jokes.

But it’s not all politics and whimsy, the album stands up on its musical merit. It channels hip hop swagger and funk into tracks such as ‘Juice’ and ‘Greezebloc’, and explores discordance and harsher tones on ‘Flames’ and ‘PROLIFIC DEAMONS’. This experimentalism and diversity makes it an arresting listen throughout.