Audiopile Review: Hackney-based MC, poet and artist John Glacier has been on a perpetual upswing since her initial appearance on a 2019 dreamcastmoe mixtape, eventually going on to drop show-stopping contributions to releases from Dean Blunt, Jamie XX and her longtime cohort Vegyn. While her guest turns have always been the standout on any album she graces, her debut solo LP on Vegyn’s PLZ Make It Ruins, Shiloh: Lost For Words, revealed her keen ear for sourcing deliriously skewed beats to merge her dry, near spoken-word raps with. After that impeccable run, Glacier does not disappoint on the game-elevating Like A Ribbon, jumping over to the Young imprint (formerly Young Turks) for what’s sure to be a proper breakthrough beyond the UK, where she’s now a known figure. With an ever-expanding Rolodex, Glacier, with the assistance of executive producer Kews Darko (aka the slanted-soul producer Blue Daisy), gathers beats from heavyweights like pop-phenom Flume, the Earl Sweatshirt & Kendrick Lamar-associated Surf Gang, and of course, Vegyn, not to mention pulling guest spots from Eartheater and Sampha. But make no mistake, Glacier is the magnetizing centre here, her charismatic and heavy-lidded drawl splits the difference between blunted spoken-word poetry and emotionally gripping mumble-rap, not cutting through so much as sinking right into the myriad beats she’s culled. From the minimalist-rock meets sputtering trip-hop of album opener “Satellites”, the off-centred downbeat and orb-y wooze of “Don’t Cover Me”, the sprawling n’ spinning glitch of album highlight “Emotions”, and down to the witch-house adjacent beats of “Nevasure”, Glacier is the “icy” thread that binds it all together. Easily one of this year’s best full lengths so far, one that we won’t forget come list-making season. Bet on it.

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A highly feted vocalist whose work was subject to huge demand even before her debut project SHILOH: Lost For Words was released, John Glacier has pushed the boundaries of what defines UK rap with a diaristic approach that shines a light on the mundanities of everyday life and the complexities of human emotion, all through her own unique phrasing and perspectives. This sensibility, alongside her own externally perpetuated mythology, has also provided allure for the fashion world, with John becoming one of the faces of and providing bespoke poetry for Burberry, as well finding fans in the likes of Bottega Veneta, Gucci, Louis Vuitton, J.W. Anderson and so many more. John’s debut album Like A Ribbon gives her the platform to explore the outer reaches of her immersive sound, traversing her own psyche in a way that’s both abstracted and wholly relatable. Her poetic style takes center stage on the LP, defining modern life as a young woman growing up in Hackney; tied to the place she was born while existing on a whole other plane. Executive producer Kwes Darko helps to lay the sonic tapestry for the weaving of John Glacier’s own tale, alongside contributions from the likes of Flume, Sampha, Mk.gee contributor Andrew Aged, Surf Gang, Eartheater, and more.