God Loves Ugly
"See, bands like us don't get groupies," Slug tells a female admirer between cuts onGod Loves Ugly. "I mean, have you heard our songs?" Groupies, presumably, require hits, and he's right, there isn't anything resembling one on the album, just as there hasn't been among Atmosphere's previous releases. Nor does Slug muster any particularly infectious choruses here, and producer Ant deviates from snare-snapping boom-bap but once over the 18-track program (on the dubby "Blamegame"). YetUglystill might be the record to introduce the duo to "that average 14-year-old girl who hates her parents" who Slug identifies as the next target now that they're a household name with the Fat Beats-savvy set. This is the sound of indie rap universalizing its relevance while compromising none of its tenets. Slug's up to his usual vein-letting self-therapy for most of "Uglybut spends much less time sticking pins in the effigies of ex-girlfriends than he did onLucy Ford. As a result, he's able to speak on a broader range of topics, from his bemusement at being a quasi sex symbol to his Holden Caulfield-like desire to ""close all the schools just to make the kids smile." Ant draws from a decidedly unflashy selection of melodic elements — guitar and piano mostly — but with them he matches the diversity of moods evoked by his partner as very few beat-smiths can. WithUgly, Atmosphere succeeds in concocting songs that are meticulously crafted enough for the heads but emotionally honest enough for little Becky from the 'burbs.Darren Keast--From URB Magazine