Taking leave from the streets of Bow E3, Richard Cowie waves goodbye to his glory days of pirate radio and grime to ascend the slippery ladder of the UK Top 40. We get teasy glimpses of his archetypal lyrical absurdity – on the Preditah-produced ‘Rubicon’ he comes out with lines like “I wear my own garms… and I do my own ironing”. But the bulk of the release is glossy summer anthems ‘AyAyAy’ and ‘Heatwave’ – there’ve been worse assaults on the ears, that’s for sure. But for fans of the original eski sound, it’s a shame that Wiley has his eyes fixed too intently on his Ascent.
4/10
Words by FELICITY MARTIN