Substance

In the year following his 2024 debut, *Refraction*, MPH basically lived behind the decks. Many a moment from those countless gigs—from a months-long world tour to festival gigs at Coachella and EDC Las Vegas—are preserved on the UK garage revivalist’s social media: clips of him, drenched in sweat, prepping the crowd for a drop; backstage photos with friends; someone inexplicably dressed in a gorilla suit lumbering through the club queue. His captions often share a general sentiment: That was the “craziest” time. It makes sense, then, that MPH’s second album, *Substance*, recreates a night out as one continuous rush, every track flowing into the next like you’re watching him live in the mix. Beyond the seamless transitions, a story unfolds. On opener “Euphoria,” rapper EV delivers a club sermon: “Lost in paradise…Forget our lives for 48 hours or just one night/I just wanna feel alive,” he declares, drum loops emerging with the sound of shuffling footsteps and beeps like tickets being scanned at the door. From there, the record plunges into pre-game anticipation (“Against the Clock,” “Pre’s”) and heavy, jubilant basslines as the night really begins, with the dance floor’s background cheers and EV’s narration woven throughout. After downing something his friends gave him “for the nerves,” the glowing pads of “Hold On” offer brief calm before paranoia kicks in on “Run,” where synth arpeggios run on loop, pitched up and down, threatening to fly off their axis. “Where am I?/Who are these strangers?/What have I taken?/Out of control but I feel *amaaazing*,” he slurs. The party hits its dizzying peak across the pummeling percussion of “Until the Morning,” the wobbling bass house of “Untouchable,” and the driving, disco-tinted garage of “La Nyc.” Sunlight peeks through the warehouse windows on “Vulnerable,” introspective UK garage rendered in watercolor, before “Substance” closes with a monologue that captures clubbing’s escapist spirit: “Tomorrow’s problems are becoming a reality again, but…For a moment everything felt OK/And you can never take that away.”