Critical reception

More information Aggregate scores, Source ...

Professional ratings

Aggregate scores
Source	Rating
AnyDecentMusic?	7.7/10[15]
Metacritic	82/100[7]
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	[16]
Financial Times	[17]
The Guardian	[18]
Mojo	[19]
NME	[20]
The Observer	[21]
Pitchfork	8.4/10[22]
Q	[23]
The Times	[24]
Uncut	7/10[25]

Close

Nothing Great About Britain was met with critical acclaim by music critics upon its initial release. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album has an average score of 82, based on 15 reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".^[7]

Amongst those praising the album was AllMusic's Paul Simpson, who judged that "His debut album far surpasses the promise of those early tracks, tackling similar topics but with a much sharper focus."^[16] In a review for Clash, Yasmin Cowan wrote, "slowthai systematically and seamlessly tears down toxic politics, misguided notions of nationalism and social injustices with sardonic wit, seething vocals and woundingly skittish beats."^[26] Jake Hawkes also rated the album positively in a review for Dork, claiming that "[the album] is a triumph of a debut, genre-straddling, quick-witted and, most importantly, very fun to listen to. In it, Slowthai sticks two fingers up at the Britain of blue passports, the royals and the Tory party, while simultaneously raising up the alternative Britain, one of family and working-class pride."^[27]

Dan-O of Freemusicempire was clear that the promise of Slowthai's future is the real takeaway. "Nothing Great About Britain is a debut so he hasn't been steered into any lanes yet. You can feel the specificity in his perspective pairing with the ease of his skill and joyful thump of the sonic universe. Don't worry what number this is on the best of the year list. Numbers don't matter here: slowthai is here and fun to listen to."^[28]

Alexis Petridis gave the album a full five-star rating in a review for The Guardian, calling it "Clever, bleak, funny, bracing, aware of a broad musical heritage but never in thrall to it: after you hear Nothing Great About Britain, it’s even more obvious why Slowthai stands out."^[18] Tom Critten gave similar praise in a review for Loud and Quiet; "Brutally honest and amusingly witty with his flow, aggressive and dynamic with his production work, and captivatingly appealing with his charm and charisma, all taken together it assembles a hugely impressive, compelling and socially important listen. And whilst it’s a damning verdict on the current climate, all hope is not surrendered – after all, a full scale disavow of Britain does not feel like it’s reached in his prose."^[29] Jazz Monroe also gave a positive review for Pitchfork, stating that "Nothing Great About Britain avoids cross-generational pandering and bypasses territorial arguments over the borders of grime and UK rap. What binds the album is slowthai’s soul: his meticulously drawn characters, his affinity for left-behind outsiders"^[22]

While the album was well-regarded by most reviewers, some were more critical of it. Ben Devlin questioned the praise it received in a review for musicOMH, asking "what is there apart from these homages and imitations? Not much. The production shines at times, for example the punky thrash of Mura Masa-produced 'Doorman', but it’s undermined with clangers like 'you make me melt, sun, ice cream', and the sub-bass tones of 'Crack' deserve better accompaniment than another 'she’s a drug to me' cliché."^[30]

Year-end rankings