Bleeds (Roots Manuva album)

Bleeds
Studio album by Roots Manuva
Released	30 October 2015
Genre	Hip hop
Label	Big Dada
Roots Manuva chronology
4everevolution (2011) Bleeds (2015)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Clash	link [1]
Exclaim!	8/10[2]
The Guardian	link
NME	link
The Observer	link

Bleeds is the ninth studio album by Roots Manuva. It was released on 30 October 2015 on the Big Dada label.

Critical reception

In a positive review for Exclaim!, Kyle Mullin wrote that "His rhymes are so layered and rapid that they are all but indecipherable, giving them endless rewind value," further stating that "these features make Bleeds a dense, dark, demanding listen. But patient, socially conscious audiences will not only find it compelling, but galvanizing too."^[2]

Noel Gardner of NME wrote. "'Bleeds' is disarmingly lush: opener 'Hard Bastards' might be an exasperated lament for a British underclass cast adrift, but those strings which kick it off sure sound posh. 'Don't Breathe Out' (“The poor don't relax/The poor do the funky soul clap ... turn Jesus black”) toys with an unusually commercial, '60s soul-esque motif. Most lavish of all is 'I Know Your Face': powered by keening cellos and cascading harpsichords, any hint of Roots' cheekily British frivolity seems very far away, despite it being in evidence as recently as the previous song ('One Thing', which proclaims “the geezer called Jesus is the leader of a gang”). And while this could have added up to more gravitas than his personality can handle, it's impressive. To borrow one of his old album titles, this is awfully deep."^[3]

Track listing

1. "Hard Bastards"
2. "Crying"
3. "Facety 2:11"
4. "Don't Breathe Out"
5. "Cargo"
6. "Stepping Hard"
7. "Me Up!"
8. "One Thing"
9. "I Know Your Face"
10. "Fighting For?"

Charts

Chart (2015)	Peak position
UK Albums (OCC)[4]	51

References

1. "Roots Manuva - Bleeds Diverse and imaginative...". www.clashmusic.com. Clash Music. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
2. Mullin, Kyle (October 28, 2015). "Roots Manuva - Bleeds". Exclaim!. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
3. Gardner, Noel. "Roots Manuva – 'Bleeds' South London hip-hop vet goes deep on an emotionally weighty sixth album". www.nme.com. NME. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
4. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 7 November 2015.