BERWYN – WHO AM I
BERWYN continues to establish his brand of bones-and-all storytelling on his debut studio album, WHO AM I
Following the acclaim of Mercury-nominated bedroom mixtape DEMOTAPE/VEGA and its follow-up TAPE 2/FOMALHAUT, WHO AM I is declarative. The candid expression of his previous work remains, now finessed into a towering major label debut. The title track is an emphatic opening gambit. An intense, undulating drum snaps around the earworm topline, BERWYN lamenting cyclical regret as he defiantly concludes that the pressure of his struggles has turned him ‘into a diamond’.
I AM BLACK is incisive and unwavering, juxtaposing self-affirmation against the social realities of existence as a Trinidadian immigrant in Romford from the age of nine, a stricken vocal tearing as he speaks of having to ‘move 8-balls in the playground’. Levity, however, can be found on a new mix of Fred again..-assisted NEIGHBOURS, tender and firmly coded for Sunday mornings.
Minor frustrations do present, though they are quickly dispersed. ALL SHE EVER WANTED, which feels like disposable Radio 1 fodder, transitions into HATE and DEAR IMMIGRATION, pillars of brilliance from which BERWYN confronts systems of power that engage in active oppression: moments that affirm BERWYN’s voice and salience as an important figure in British music.
Listen to: WHO AM I, HATE, DEAR IMMIGRATION