Close to Home (Aitch album)

2022 studio album by Aitch

Close to Home is the debut full-length studio album by British rapper Aitch, released in 2022. The album features guest appearances from Mastermind, Ashanti, New Machine, Bakar, AJ Tracey and Ed Sheeran. The release has received generally favourable reviews from critics, who have noted the evolution of the rapper's style and persona as well as the diversity present in the individual tracks, but criticised the uneven quality of the songs.

The album was the first record to include NFT content to enter the UK Albums Chart.^[5]

Critical reception

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Close to Home received "generally favorable reviews" based on a weighted average score of 67 out of 100 from six critic scores.^[7] In NME, Fred Garratt-Stanley gave Close to Home four out of five stars, noting how Aitch's public persona has matured with this album.^[15] Sister publications The Guardian and The Observer rated this album three out of five stars; in the former, critic Alexis Petridis situating the release in terms of contemporary British youth culture, but noting the unevenness of the production^[13] and in the latter, Ammar Kalia praised the development of Aitch as a musician.^[16] Writing for The Line of Best Fit, Wepea Buntugu scored Close to Home a seven out of 10 due to the variety of emotions and tones found on the music and noting the successful collaborations, but opining that "there are a number of extra levels to reach".^[14] In The Daily Telegraph, Will Pritchard gave Close to Home four out of five stars, noting that "when [Aitch] takes a big swing, he can hit big", but pointing out that the album also has "duds".^[10]

Track listing

1. "BelgraveRoad_1" (Aitch, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 3:31
2. "Louis Vuitton" (Aitch, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 3:02
3. "1989" (Aitch, Ian Brown, Mark Ralph, John Squire, and Whyjay) – 2:17
4. "Money Habits" (Aitch, LiTek, Mastermind, and Whyjay) – 2:42
5. "Baby" (Aitch, Berwyn, Crooza, Ashanti Douglas, Fred, Benjy Gibson, Irving Lorenzo, and Andre Parker) – 2:57
6. "Bring It Back" (Aitch, LiTek, Sangy, and Whyjay) – 2:42
7. "Sunshine" (Aitch, New Machine, and Whyjay) – 2:57
8. "Fuego" (Aitch, O'Shea Jackson, Jacob Manson, Larry Troutman, Roger Troutman, Whyjay, and André Young) – 2:36
9. "Cheque" (Aitch, Aminé, Gibbo, and P2J) – 2:41
10. "In Disguise" (Aitch, Bakar, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 2:38
11. "The Palm" (Aitch, LiTek, Manson, and Whyjay) – 2:47
12. "100×" (Aitch, Aod, and Whyjay) – 3:32
13. "R Kid" (Aitch, LiTek, AJ Tracey, and Whyjay) – 3:13
14. "My G" (Aitch, LiTek, Ed Sheeran, Fraser T. Smith, and Whyjay) – 3:18
15. "Close to Home" (Aitch, LiTek, Naomi Parchment, Whyjay, and Olivia Williams) – 4:23
16. "Hollinwood to Hollywood" (Aitch, Anthony Crawford, Montell Jordan, LiTek, and Whyjay) – 2:41

Personnel

• Aitch – rapping

Additional musicians

• Aminé – additional vocals on "Cheque"
• Ashanti – vocals on "Baby", via a sample of "Rock wit U (Awww Baby)"^[14]
• Bakar – vocals on "In Disguise"
• Mastermind – vocals on "Money Habits"
• The Music Confectionary Children's Choir – vocals on "Close to Home"
  • Layla Bailey, Nia Bleazard, Alexander Bradburn, Ellie Brown, Emory Charles, Ruby Caulfield, Heaven Harriott, Llewellyn Martin, Monty Oakeshott, Naomi Parchment (also choir arrangement), Johann Roberts, Lola Tatnell, Taina Vasquez, Daniel Webley, Aimee White, Maisie Wilkinson, Olivia Williams (also choir arrangement), Shiloh Williams
• New Machine – vocals and production on "Sunshine"
• Ed Sheeran – vocals on "My G"
• AJ Tracey – vocals on "R Kid"

Technical personnel

• AoD – production on "100×"
• Scott Barnett – engineering
• Berwyn – production on "Baby"
• Aidan Cochrane – design
• Crooza – production on "Baby"
• Fred – production on "Baby"
• Chris Gehringer – mastering on "My G" at Sterling Sound, New Jersey, United States
• Gibbo – production on "Cheque"
• Benjy Gibson – production on "Baby"
• Eli Heisler – mixing and mastering on "My G"
• Kelvin Jones – creative design, photography
• Rob Kinelski – mixing on "My G" at The Fortress of Amplitude
• LiTek – production on all tracks except "1989", "Sunshine", "Fuego", "Cheque", "100×", and "My G" (additional production on latter track only)
• Jacob Manson – production on "The Palm"
• Prash "Engine-Earz" Mistry – mixing and mastering on all tracks except on "Baby" and "My G" at Forwa3DStudios, London, England, United Kingdom
• P2J – production on "Cheque"
• Pantha – additional production on "1989"
• Mark Ralph – production on "1989"
• George Reid – additional production on "1989"
• Jay Reynolds – mixing on "Baby" at Long Island Studios, London, England, United Kingdom
• Sangy – production on "Bring It Back"
• Fraser T. Smith – production on "My G"
• WhyJay – production on all tracks except "Baby", "Cheque", and "My G" (additional production on latter track only); executive production

Chart performance

See also

• Lists of 2022 albums

References

1. Keith, James (11 March 2022). "Aitch Samples An Ashanti Classic For Summer-Ready Single "Baby"". Complex. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
2. Jones, Damian (20 May 2022). "Aitch shares new single '1989' with Shaun Ryder featuring The Stone Roses sample". NME. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
3. Moore, Sam (20 June 2022). "Listen to Aitch and Bakar team up on new single 'In Disguise'". NME. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
4. Frazer, Neil (20 June 2022). "UK Rapper Aitch Reveals His Latest Single 'My G' featuring Ed Sheeran". OutLoud Culture!. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
5. Tuck, Sophia Elizabeth (28 August 2022). "Aitch's 'Close To Home' Becomes First NFT Release To Enter The UK Album Charts". Mxdwn. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
6. "Close to Home by Aitch reviews | Any Decent Music". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
7. "Close to Home by Aitch Reviews". Metacritic. Fandom, Inc. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
8. Bishop, Aaron (18 August 2022). "Aitch - Close to Home". Clash. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
9. Joshi, Tara (18 August 2022). "Aitch - Close to Home Review". Crack. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
10. Pritchard, Will (19 August 2022). "Loudon Wainwright III drinks and moans, Demi Lovato flees her demons – the week's best albums". The Daily Telegraph. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
11. Smyth, David (19 August 2022). "Aitch - Close to Home review: Burning with hit-making ambition". Evening Standard. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
12. Hansen, Susan (17 August 2022). "His most intimate, personal release to date". Gigwise. Archived from the original on 17 August 2022. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
13. Petridis, Alexis (18 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home review – '100,000% Manc album' not just for the Lynx lads". The Guardian. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
14. Buntugu, Wepea (19 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home Review". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
15. Garratt-Stanley, Fred (18 August 2022). "Aitch – 'Close To Home' review: newfound maturity from Manchester's poster boy". NME. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
16. Kalia, Ammar (21 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home review – staking his claim to the mainstream". The Observer. Guardian Media Group. Retrieved 24 April 2023.
17. Dempsy, Colin (30 August 2022). "Aitch: Close to Home". spectrumculture.com. Retrieved 1 January 2024.
18. "The ARIA Report: Week Commencing 29 August 2022". The ARIA Report. No. 1695. Australian Recording Industry Association. 29 August 2022. p. 6.
19. "Ultratop.be – Aitch – Close to Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
20. "Dutchcharts.nl – Aitch – Close to Home" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
21. "Official Irish Albums Chart Top 50". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
22. "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
23. "Swisscharts.com – Aitch – Close to Home". Hung Medien. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
24. "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
25. "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 April 2023.