(Locomotion/Polydor)
The Doncaster firebrand’s first album proper lands uneasily between in-your-face and insecurity
Yungblud went at the generation gap hammer and tongs with his first mixtape, 2018’s 21st Century Liability, and its follow-up, The Underrated Youth EP (2019). Grabbing from emo, pop-punk, hip-hop and – shamelessly – from MIA, the gobby Doncastrian berated clueless parents, refused Ritalin and styled himself as the voice of young suburban angst.
Fortunately, Dominic Harrison’s obnoxiousness came with empathy. Many of Yungblud’s concerns have been timely, privileging sexual fluidity and LGBTQ+ teens and decrying gun and sexual violence. In May, he attended several days of Black Lives Matter protests in the US.