Now here’s a man with a lot on his mind. It seems the good times and the lack of rhymes since 2001’s ‘Run Come Save Me’ have taken their toll on Rodney Smith. Awfully Deep burns with a searing personal and creative indecisiveness and – within this genre - you’d be hard-pushed to find someone as willing to lay their feelings on the line. After studying his art “till I’m blue in the face”, Smith can’t decide whether “these ain’t rhymes no more – they’re sermons for urban suburbans” or whether “this LP could be my last”. On top of that, it’s “sometimes I hate myself, sometimes I love myself”.

But while the subject matter is indeed awfully deep and skits are thin on the ground, Smith’s knack for a catchy chorus and his lazy, liquid flow keep things ticking along. Production-wise, he proves his boast that “pigeonholes ain’t nothing to hold me”, with slick excursions into two-steppy beats, rootsy dub, bashment vibes, Chemicals-esque beats and plain old hip-hop. The production is flawless, a worthy foil to Roots‚ stoned paranoia. Awfully Deep is as complete an album as you’ll hear all year – if only all self-doubt sounded so damn good.

Click here to read Craig Fitzsimon's review of Awfully Deep.