| Only Dust Remains | ||||
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| Studio album by | ||||
| Released | March 28, 2025 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 40:51 | |||
| Label | Ugly Hag Records | |||
| Producer | Ashanti Mutinta | |||
| Backxwash chronology | ||||
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| Singles from Only Dust Remains | ||||
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Only Dust Remains is the fifth studio album by the Zambian-Canadian rapper Backxwash. It was self-released through Ugly Hag Records on March 28, 2025.
In October 2024, Backxwash announced that she would be releasing a new album, with a release date set for February 2025. [1] The album was to include the single "Wake Up", which she had released earlier that year, on April 17, 2024. [2] Only Dust Remains was officially announced on January 28, 2025. [3] On February 27, she released the single "9th Heaven" from the album. [4] [5] Backxwash released Only Dust Remains on March 28, 2025, through her label Ugly Hag Records. [6]
| Aggregate scores | |
|---|---|
| Source | Rating |
| Metacritic | 86/100 [7] |
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Beats Per Minute | 76/100 [8] |
| Kerrang! |   [9] |
| The Needle Drop | 9/10 [a] |
| Cult MTL | 9/10 [11] |
| Paste | 9.3/10 [12] |
| Distorted Sound | 10/10 [13] |
| Sputnikmusic | 4.4/5 [14] |
Only Dust Remains received mostly positive critical reception. On Metacritic, the album received an average score of 86, based on 5 reviews. [7] Mischa Pearlman of Kerrang! called it "a morbid, bleak and brilliant post-trilogy album" and further described it as "a dark album. A very dark album," yet highlighted its global awareness, with tracks like "History of Violence" mixing personal pain with political trauma. Pearlman concluded Only Dust Remains as a "brave, powerful and uncompromising album that holds nothing back". [9] Anthony Fantano praised Backxwash's creative evolution, noting that the album features "more of those different sides of her that we caught just a tiny, teensy-weensy bit of on the last record". [10] John Amen of Beats Per Minute wrote, "Mutinta isn’t retracting her take on the world; she’s unapologetic in her condemnation of our institutions and the way they impact our sense of worth (and/or lack of it). At the same time, she’s researching new sonic directions as well as a somewhat more paradoxical take on human life". He concluded, "Dust is ultimately a 'between' project; we’ll see where it leads". [15]
The album was longlisted for the 2025 Polaris Music Prize. [16]
| No. | Title | Length |
|---|---|---|
| 1. | "Black Lazarus" | 4:58 |
| 2. | "Wake Up" | 7:08 |
| 3. | "Undesirable" | 3:23 |
| 4. | "9th Gate" | 1:16 |
| 5. | "9th Heaven" | 4:21 |
| 6. | "Dissociation" (featuring Chloe Hotline) | 5:02 |
| 7. | "History Of Violence" | 5:14 |
| 8. | "Stairway To Heaven" (featuring Ora Cogan) | 3:27 |
| 9. | "Love After Death" | 1:14 |
| 10. | "Only Dust Remains" (featuring pet wife, MAGELLA, Fernie, Morgan-Paige) | 4:45 |