Released on February 14, 2025,
on Young.
A woman of Jamaican origin but Londoner to her fingertips, bearing a man’s name, who models in her spare time, hangs out with people like Jamie xx, is produced by Vegyn, performs over electronic music, and defines herself as a poet. This description gives a fair idea of what John Glacier has in store for us: the same thing, updated, as all the Grace Jones figures who came before her. She is post-punk, post-rap, post-modern.
The first musical traces of John Glacier date back to 2017 with the track “Broken Macbook.” But it was in 2021, with her first album SHILOH: Lost For Words, that she began to make a name for herself. Then, in 2024, another release caught some attention: the EP Like A Ribbon. This paved the way for the critical success of the album of the same name, which in 2025 reprises those tracks and blends them with songs from two other projects, Duppy Gun and Angel’s Trumpet.
“Satellites,” the opening track, immediately shows us where we’re headed. This is no rap music, but some spoken word about her romantic troubles, delivered in a sad, neurasthenic tone over heavy, atmospheric post-punk basslines. The same goes for the next track, “Don’t Cover Me.” There, we hear some muted guitars and electronic music, but very little hip-hop, to be honest. We only come close from afar, as when, on “Dancing In The Rain,” Evilgiane steps in with one of his signature pocket-sized electronic melodies.
Rap themes appear only as residues (money and luxury on “Money Shows,” snippets of ego-trip on “Emotions” and “Found”), without the usual proud, glorifying tone. Quite the opposite. John Glacier’s lyrics are cold, mechanical, disembodied, and probably ironic, and what the rapper really explores are her insecurities. What she lays bare are her doubts and uncertainties (“Nevasure”). Abandonment and resignation seep through, coloring the way John Glacier recites her small poems – dully, distantly, monotonously.
At times, all of this brings us to the brink of boredom. But John Glacier knows how to recover with the music, much of it produced by herself and by Kwes Darko, Slowthai’s collaborator. In contrast to rather dull tracks like the apathetic “Steady As I Am” and “Ocean Steppin’” (a collaboration with Sampha), we find here the slow build of tension in “Money Shows,” the obsessive synths of “Emotions,” and the Cure-like guitar of the love song “Home,” among others. There’s also the lovely closing track, all whispers and acoustic guitar, “Heaven’s Sent.” It’s arty and greatly appeals to rap critics who don’t like rap. But it proves that John Glacier is far more than a passing fashion statement.