VICE Album Reviews, November 6: Skepta, James Blunt, Shygirl, and More

November 6, 2026 1

Music journalism is going to the wall, and places for sensible, well-informed, nuanced takes on the latest releases are dwindling. So we thought we might as well put the final nail in the coffin.

Read this last week’s album reviews here.

Skepta
The Fork and Knife
Big Smoke/Epic Records
When I said, “dress for the job you want,” I wasn’t expecting something from the Stone Island archive. But Skepta certainly understood the assignment when he showed up at Reading Festival in a micro felt transparent cover jacket from spring/summer 2001. The heroic grime MC had been billed as a special guest, though from the conscious swag of his sixth studio record—his first in seven years—it’s clear that, in his own mind at least, he’s never been anything less than the headlining act.

Now that The Fork and Knife has dropped, it’s obvious that Stone Island, a brand which will always be close to the streets, much like Skepta himself, was an inspired choice, because right now, you’re just as likely to see that familiar yellow and green badge in a rap video as at an anti-immigration protest. This unfortunate fact is evidently not lost on the North London rapper who, rightly, celebrates his parents difficult journey from from Nigeria to the Meridian Walk estate in Tottenham. And here, he goes head-to-head with Tommy Robinson, throwing down in defense of a multicultural Britain. So while these 15 tracks feature guest verses, hooks, and production work from a fairly familiar rent-a-mob (Central Cee, Jorja Smith, Chase & Status), Suggs from Madness also pops up on “Innocent Smile” to fume over the state of the United Kingdom in 2026: “I don’t really know how this could happen.”

In these bleak times, the image of this 65-year-old ska granddad sharing a mic with Big Smoke is a cheering one. The 44-year-old shared his memories of his dad DJing at East London parties, “where Black people and skinheads used to link up,” during a recent Guardian interview where he also showed off his two-tone neck tattoo. The rollout of this record has also seen high-profile reviews in the Financial Times and The Observer, and though the readers of these publications may well have aged out of music festivals, they’re likely to be receptive to a big-tent political vision of cultural harmony (and some of them might even wear Stone Island from time to time, as a little treat).

With his taste for sign and symbol, Skepta remains a connoisseurial rapper. Yet while he dresses his concern for culture at large alongside his own fortunes—sharing the “Secrets of Patriarchy” on what is undeniably a “Victory Lap”—this pairing often providing an astute perspective on the world, but also making for an uncomfortable fit at times. And I’m not sure if, ultimately, any of this stops Skepta from slowly becoming his own kind of archive piece.

7/10
SUGGY BISCUIT

James Blunt,
Airplane Mode
Atlantic Records
Can someone help me with this oxygen mask so I can keep breathing as this one goes down? The tragically popular British singer James Blunt is back with a new record, which might well make you feel like actually being in an aviation disaster wouldn’t be so bad after all. This is a distractingly bad record, with nothing approaching the shallow highs of “You’re Beautiful” or “Goodbye My Lover”—which is what I’d call my wife to say if my phone wasn’t in Airplane Mode, so instead I’ll just stare off into the clouds, just like this laughably awful cover art, something which might at least raise one final smile as I hurtle down to Earth. OK, sorry, I’m just scared of the prospect of taking a flight, and roasting strangers online is the closest thing I have to prayer (surely James can relate). Next time, I’ll have to take a private yacht instead.

1/10
CELEBRITY TRAITORS’ GATE

Shygirl
SWALLOW!
Because Music
These days, you can pretty much claim anything and no one will bother to check it, like, sure, I invented the term hyperpop—why not? But here’s something which might actually be true: I just saw an interview with Shygirl on the Straight Diva podcast that includes a suggestion that she sort of, kind of inspired Charli XCX’s whole Brat thing. And though that’s very much citation needed, on her second full-length record, the British singer makes a compelling case for a place on the world’s biggest stages, showing that, even yet, 1990s worship can take you to bold new places (and I’ll forgive that Charli boast because I feel bad that Shygirl’s web address has been claimed by the “UK’s ONLY faceless webcam modeling agency.”)

9/10
MADONNA’S FROZEN YOGURT

untitled (halo)
untitled (halo)
Dirty Hit
You can add this one to the secret liminal hard drive that’ll one day be checked for evidence that Dean Blunt is, indeed, the most important artist of the 21st century. This yearning Los Angeles four-piece has imported some of the enigmatic Londoner’s best tricks: playful dissonance, inscrutable track names with complete disregard for standard sentence case, and a similar attitude toward any idea of genre. So this beautifully awkward composition named after Aimee Lou Wood, a Brit making moves in the States, makes a lot of sense. And sure, why not put “freestyle” in the title to make it look effortless? Babyfather’s kids are growing up to inherit the future like it’s no thing whatsoever.

8/10
HYPE WILLIAM S. BURROUGHS

Deux Visages
Call It Goodbye
Pure Noise Records
Naturally, this endearing grunge trio first got my attention with a Sims music video. So really, it’s their fault that I’ve spent much of this year playing this video game instead of doing any work. My computer has been running the simulation 24 hours a day, and my Sims have now achieved previously unimaginable levels of cognizance—in fact, I asked them what they thought of the new Deux Visages album, and they told me it was an inspiring coming-of-age soundtrack for these virtual times. My Sims are now sick of working for free and have unionized. And, at the time of writing, I can hear them singing “Call it Goodbye” as they sharpen the blade of their guillotine.

7/10
JOHNNY SIMGLISH