Smiling with No Teeth

The Needle Drop 8/10 Genesis Owusu's full-length debut is impressive, occasionally even overambitious.

The Line of Best Fit 9/10 Owusu’s debut offering not only manages to deftly balance style with substance, but does so with a jubilance that gives as much reason to curl up your own most toothy grin.

NME 4/5 With ‘Smiling With No Teeth’, Genesis Owusu has delivered a riveting album that underscores the power of self-knowledge, perspective and art – one that should be cranked loud.

Dork 4/5 Though the album itself could have been cut down to at least half its size, Genesis Owusu’s first full-length is a triumphant beast that’s broken defiantly out of its cage.

DIY 4/5 Like Gorillaz, Outkast or even The Weeknd before him, he plays well with dark and sinister, throwing theatrical voice in a musical hall of mirrors with real versatility.

The Independent 4/5 With strong, clear-eyed subtext, overlaid by compositions that touch on every influence from TV on the Radio to Prince, Childish Gambino and Radiohead, Smiling With No Teeth is not so much an album as it is a memoir.

The Forty Five 4/5 The record could be shorter, but its disjointed brilliance sweeps away any urge for cohesion. What ties these tracks together is Genesis Owusu’s talent, ambition, and imagination.

All Music 4/5 Stylistically, Owusu traces dimensions of hip-hop, synth pop, funk, and more, never quite settling for long enough to band Smiling with No Teeth under any single banner.

Gigwise 7/10 Smiling With No Teeth has plenty of not only good, but great, songs and whether you are a fan of high energy hip-hop, raw punk-esque guitars or soulful R&B, there is something on the album for you.

Loud and Quiet 9/10 A triumph from top to bottom, Smiling… sets the stage for Genesis Owusu to become a potentially generation-defining star.