Close to Home (Aitch album)

Last updated

Close to Home
Aitch - Close to Home.jpg
Studio album by
Aitch
Released19 August 2022 (2022-08-19)
Genre Hip hop
Length47:57
Label Capitol
Producer
Aitch chronology
Polaris
(2020)		Close to Home
(2022)
Singles from Close to Home
  1. "Baby"
    Released: 10 March 2022 [1]
  2. "1989"
    Released: 20 May 2022 [2]
  3. "In Disguise"
    Released: 20 June 2022 [3]
  4. "My G"
    Released: 19 August 2022 [4]

Close to Home is the debut full-length studio album by British rapper Aitch, released in 2022. The album features 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.

Contents

The album was the first record to include NFT content to enter the UK Albums Chart. [5]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?6.0/10 [6]
Metacritic 67/100 [7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Clash 5/10 [8]
Crack 6/10 [9]
The Daily Telegraph Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [10]
Evening Standard Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [11]
Gigwise Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [12]
The Guardian Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [13]
The Line of Best Fit 7/10 [14]
NME Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svg [15]
The Observer Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [16]
Spectrum CultureStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [17]

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. [7] 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. [15] 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 [13] and in the latter, Ammar Kalia praised the development of Aitch as a musician. [16] 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". [14] 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

  1. "BelgraveRoad_1" (Aitch, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 3:31
  2. "Louis Vuitton" (Aitch, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 3:02
  3. "1989" (Aitch, Ian Brown, Mark Ralph, John Squire, and Whyjay) – 2:17
  4. "Money Habits" (Aitch, LiTek, Mastermind, and Whyjay) – 2:42
  5. "Baby" (Aitch, Berwyn, Crooza, Ashanti Douglas, Fred, Benjy Gibson, Irving Lorenzo, and Andre Parker) – 2:57
  6. "Bring It Back" (Aitch, LiTek, Sangy, and Whyjay) – 2:42
  7. "Sunshine" (Aitch, New Machine, and Whyjay) – 2:57
  8. "Fuego" (Aitch, O'Shea Jackson, Jacob Manson, Larry Troutman, Roger Troutman, Whyjay, and André Young) – 2:36
  9. "Cheque" (Aitch, Aminé, Gibbo, and P2J) – 2:41
  10. "In Disguise" (Aitch, Bakar, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 2:38
  11. "The Palm" (Aitch, LiTek, Manson, and Whyjay) – 2:47
  12. "100×" (Aitch, Aod, and Whyjay) – 3:32
  13. "R Kid" (Aitch, LiTek, AJ Tracey, and Whyjay) – 3:13
  14. "My G" (Aitch, LiTek, Ed Sheeran, Fraser T. Smith, and Whyjay) – 3:18
  15. "Close to Home" (Aitch, LiTek, Naomi Parchment, Whyjay, and Olivia Williams) – 4:23
  16. "Hollinwood to Hollywood" (Aitch, Anthony Crawford, Montell Jordan, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 2:41

Personnel

Additional musicians

Technical personnel

Chart performance

Chart performance for Close to Home
ChartPeakDuration (weeks)
Australian Albums (ARIA) [18] 521
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders) [19] 1691
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100) [20] 461
Irish Albums (OCC) [21] 241
Scottish Albums (OCC) [22] 41
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade) [23] 731
UK Albums (OCC) [24] 24
UK R&B Albums (OCC) [25] 114

See also

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References

  1. ↑ Keith, James (11 March 2022). "Aitch Samples An Ashanti Classic For Summer-Ready Single "Baby"". Complex . Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  2. ↑ Jones, Damian (20 May 2022). "Aitch shares new single '1989' with Shaun Ryder featuring The Stone Roses sample". NME . Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  3. ↑ Moore, Sam (20 June 2022). "Listen to Aitch and Bakar team up on new single 'In Disguise'". NME. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  4. ↑ Frazer, Neil (20 June 2022). "UK Rapper Aitch Reveals His Latest Single 'My G' featuring Ed Sheeran". OutLoud Culture!. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  5. ↑ Tuck, Sophia Elizabeth (28 August 2022). "Aitch's 'Close To Home' Becomes First NFT Release To Enter The UK Album Charts". Mxdwn. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. ↑ "Close to Home by Aitch reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  7. 1 2 "Close to Home by Aitch Reviews". Metacritic . Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  8. ↑ Bishop, Aaron (18 August 2022). "Aitch - Close to Home". Clash . Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  9. ↑ Joshi, Tara (18 August 2022). "Aitch - Close to Home Review". Crack . Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  10. 1 2 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.
  11. ↑ Smyth, David (19 August 2022). "Aitch - Close to Home review: Burning with hit-making ambition". Evening Standard . Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  12. ↑ Hansen, Susan (17 August 2022). "His most intimate, personal release to date". Gigwise . Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  13. 1 2 Petridis, Alexis (18 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home review – '100,000% Manc album' not just for the Lynx lads". The Guardian . Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  14. 1 2 3 Buntugu, Wepea (19 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home Review". The Line of Best Fit . Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  15. 1 2 Garratt-Stanley, Fred (18 August 2022). "Aitch – 'Close To Home' review: newfound maturity from Manchester's poster boy". NME . Retrieved 24 April 2023.
  16. 1 2 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.
  17. ↑ Dempsy, Colin (30 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home". spectrumculture.com. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
  18. ↑ "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 29 August 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1695. Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 August 2022. p. 6.
  19. ↑ "Ultratop.be – Aitch – Close to Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  20. ↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Aitch – Close to Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  21. ↑ "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  22. ↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  23. ↑ "Swisscharts.com – Aitch – Close to Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  24. ↑ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
  25. ↑ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
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