The Singles Jukebox

Something like the Sound of [5]?

[Video]
[5.00]

Patrick St. Michel: Smoky bit of sad reflection that’s certainly not offering any interesting changes.
[4]

Alfred Soto: The filigrees count on this Britrap version of “The Way It Is” — the way the sax swells around Loyle Carner’s feigned detachment, the guitar licks. But if the hisses and pops are meant to suggest old records, it’s too on the nose.
[5]

Thomas Inskeep: Not surprising to learn that Carner’s collaborated with the awesome Kate Tempest, because “Ain’t Nothing Changed” sounds more poetry-slam than hip-hop; I mean that as a compliment. Behind him, the track, with its lazily seductive sax, sounds like a dusty DJ Premier production from ’92 (complete with vinyl crackle). 
[7]

Megan Harrington: “Ain’t Nothing Changed” is relatable, and the world Carner paints is recognizable often to the point of uncomfortability. The problem is that he’s whiny. 
[4]

Brad Shoup: You gotta be able to take that shrug of a hook and make it into a grand gesture. I guess he’s trying to match that fire-escape sax.
[4]

Micha Cavaseno: Jazzy hip-hop has been this way for quite some time, so nothing’s changed there. But unlike most of it, Loyle at least has poignant lyrics and a cohesive theme that doesn’t make a mountain out of his molehill of skills. That’ll be for the fans who will hype the guy to astronomical levels, but he’s got one crowning glory, so let him have that moment.
[6]