Close to Home | ||||
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Studio album by | ||||
Released | 19 August 2022 | |||
Genre | Hip hop | |||
Length | 48:03 | |||
Label | Capitol | |||
Producer |
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Aitch chronology | ||||
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Singles from Close to Home | ||||
Close to Home is the debut full-length studio album by British rapper Aitch, released in 2022. The album featires guest appearances from Mastermind, Ashanti, New Machine, Bakar, AJ Tracey and Ed Sheeran. The release has received generally favourable reviews from critics, who have noted the evolution of the rapper's style and persona as well as the diversity present in the individual tracks, but criticised the uneven quality of the songs.
Reception
According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Close to Home received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 from six critic scores.[5] In NME, Fred Garratt-Stanley gave Close to Home four out of five stars, noting how Aitch's public persona has matured with this album.[6] Sister publications The Guardian and The Observer rated this album three out of five stars; in the former, critic Alexis Petridis situating the release in terms of contemporary British youth culture, but noting the unevenness of the production[7] and in the latter, Ammar Kalia praised the development of Aitch as a musician.[8] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Wepea Buntugu scored Close to Home a seven out of 10 due to the variety of emotions and tones found on the music and noting the successful collaborations, but opining that "there are a number of extra levels to reach".[9] In The Daily Telegraph, Will Pritchard gave Close to Home four out of five stars, noting that "when [Aitch] takes a big swing, he can hit big", but pointing out that the album also has "duds".[10]
Track listing
No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
---|---|---|---|---|
1. | "BelgraveRoad_1" |
|
| 3:31 |
2. | "Louis Vuitton" |
|
| 3:03 |
3. | "1989" |
| 2:18 | |
4. | "Money Habits" (Mastermind) |
|
| 2:42 |
5. | "Baby" (featuring Ashanti) |
| 2:58 | |
6. | "Bring It Back" |
|
| 2:42 |
7. | "Sunshine" (featuring New Machine) |
|
| 2:57 |
8. | "Fuego" |
|
| 2:37 |
9. | "Cheque" |
| 2:41 | |
10. | "In Disguise" (featuring Bakar) |
|
| 2:38 |
11. | "The Palm" |
|
| 2:48 |
12. | "100×" |
|
| 3:32 |
13. | "R Kid" (featuring AJ Tracey) |
|
| 3:14 |
14. | "My G" (featuring Ed Sheeran) |
| 3:18 | |
15. | "Close to Home" |
|
| 4:23 |
16. | "Hollinwood to Hollywood" |
|
| 2:41 |
Total length: | 48:03 |
Notes
Personnel
Musicians
- Aitch – vocals
- LiTek – bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming, strings, synthesizer (tracks 1, 2, 4, 13, 15); background vocals (1, 2, 4)
- Whyjay – drums (1–5, 7, 8, 13, 14, 15); bass guitar, guitar, keyboards, programming, strings, synthesizer (1–5, 7, 8, 13, 15); background vocals (1, 2, 4, 7, 8)
- Mark Ralph – bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming, strings, synthesizer (3)
- Pantha – keyboards (3)
- George Reid – synthesizer (3)
- Benjy Gibson – background vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitar, programming, synthesizer (5)
- Berwyn – background vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitar, programming, synthesizer (5)
- Crooza – background vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitar, programming, synthesizer (5)
- Fred – background vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitar, programming, synthesizer (5)
- Marco Parisi – keyboards, strings (5)
- Ashanti – vocals (5)
- New Machine – vocals, background vocals, bass guitar, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming, strings, synthesizer (7)
- Jacob Manson – background vocals, drums, guitar, keyboards, programming, strings, synthesizer (8)
- Aminé – additional vocals (9)
- AJ Tracey – vocals (13)
- Fraser T. Smith – drum programming, guitar, keyboards, bass synthesizer (14)
- Ed Sheeran – vocals (14)
- Naomi Parchment – choir arrangement, background vocals (15)
- Olivia Williams – choir arrangement, background vocals (15)
- Aimee White – background vocals (15)
- Alexander Bradburn – background vocals (15)
- Daniel Webley – background vocals (15)
- Ellie Brown – background vocals (15)
- Emory Charles – background vocals (15)
- Heaven Harriott – background vocals (15)
- Johann Roberts – background vocals (15)
- Layla Bailey – background vocals (15)
- Llewellyn Martin – background vocals (15)
- Lola Tatnell – background vocals (15)
- Maisie Wilkinson – background vocals (15)
- Monty Oakeshott – background vocals (15)
- Nia Bleazard – background vocals (15)
- Ruby Caulfield – background vocals (15)
- Shiloh Williams – background vocals (15)
- Taina Vasquez – background vocals (15)
Technical
- Prash "Engine-Earz" Mistry – mastering, mixing (1–4, 6–16)
- Stuart Hawkes – mastering (5)
- Chris Gehringer – mastering (14)
- Jay Reynolds – mixing (5)
- Rob Kinelski – mixing (14)
- Whyjay – engineering (1–4, 6–13, 15, 16)
- Videsh "Vivid" Umadas – engineering (1, 2)
- Scott Barnett – engineering (14)
- Will Quinnell – mastering assistance (14)
- Eli Heisler – mixing assistance (14)
Chart performance
Chart | Peak | Duration (weeks) |
---|---|---|
Australian Albums (ARIA)[11] | 52 | 1 |
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[12] | 169 | 1 |
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[13] | 46 | 1 |
Irish Albums (OCC)[14] | 24 | 1 |
Scottish Albums (OCC)[15] | 4 | 1 |
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[16] | 73 | 1 |
UK Albums (OCC)[17] | 2 | 4 |
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[18] | 1 | 14 |
See also
References
- ^ Keith, James (11 March 2022). "Aitch Samples An Ashanti Classic For Summer-Ready Single "Baby"". Complex. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Jones, Damian (20 May 2022). "Aitch shares new single '1989' with Shaun Ryder featuring The Stone Roses sample". NME. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Moore, Sam (20 June 2022). "Listen to Aitch and Bakar team up on new single 'In Disguise'". NME. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ Frazer, Neil (20 June 2022). "UK Rapper Aitch Reveals His Latest Single 'My G' featuring Ed Sheeran". OutLoud Culture!. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Close to Home by Aitch Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Garratt-Stanley, Fred (18 August 2022). "Aitch – 'Close To Home' review: newfound maturity from Manchester's poster boy". NME. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Petridis, Alexis (18 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home review – '100,000% Manc album' not just for the Lynx lads". The Guardian. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Kalia, Ammar (21 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home review – staking his claim to the mainstream". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Buntugu, Wepea (19 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home Review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ Pritchard, Will (19 August 2022). "Loudon Wainwright III drinks and moans, Demi Lovato flees her demons – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
- ^ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 29 August 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1695. Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 August 2022. p. 6.
- ^ "Ultratop.be – Aitch – Close to Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Aitch – Close to Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Swisscharts.com – Aitch – Close to Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
- ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
External links
- Close to Home at Discogs (list of releases)
- Close to Home at MusicBrainz (list of releases)