Barcelona-based producer Nacho Pezzati, known professionally as Nueen, has returned with his sophomore full-length release Swerved, a bass-heavy exploration of moody soundscapes that draws from R&B, drill, cloud rap, and dub without ever shifting from its consistently grey-black atmosphere.
The album, released through the acclaimed Hyperdub label, follows his 2024 collaborative debut You Said You’d Hold My Hand Through the Fire with rapper Iceboy Violet and sees the producer cementing his position at the forefront of the underground scene.
The Sound of Churning Darkness
Swerved opens a window into what can only be described as slowly rotting ambience. From the outset, listeners are plunged into an atmosphere that feels perpetually on the brink of collapse, never quite tipping over but existing in a state of constant, thrilling tension. The production throughout is dense and atmospheric, built on layered textures that reward patient listening.
By the time the tenth track, Copicat, arrives, that pervasive unease has reached a fever pitch. After an agonizingly slow build driven by what sounds like fanbelt hi-hats, the album’s sole drop crashes through with the weight and force of a sudden cloudburst. It’s a moment of catharsis that feels genuinely earned.
The album’s production quality deserves particular praise. Nueen demonstrates a masterful understanding of space and restraint, knowing precisely when to pull back and when to let loose with devastating effect. The mixing throughout Swerved creates an intimate, almost suffocating quality, as if the listener is trapped inside the music itself.
Connections to the North-West Underground
Those familiar with the underground scenes emerging from the UK’s north-west will recognise many of the sonic touchstones Nueen draws upon throughout Swerved. The humid ambience present throughout the record bears a striking resemblance to the work of Space Afrika, the Manchester-based duo who have become something of a benchmark for this particular aesthetic.
On the track Atmosphere Is My Style, Loraine James delivers a drawling vocal performance that touches on themes of dislocation and confusion reminiscent of Rainy Miller’s acclaimed work. Meanwhile, two collaborations with Manchester’s RenzNiro veer between swaggering confidence and raw confession, echoing the approach of his recent album No Weapon Shall Prosper.
What distinguishes Nueen from his contemporaries is his ability to synthesise these varied influences without simply replicating them. Swerved functions almost as a state-of-the-nation address for a particular corner of the British underground, taking stock of where things currently stand before pushing into uncharted territory.
Featured Voices and New Directions
The paths Nueen explores on this record are guided in no small part by his impressive roster of vocal collaborators. Cloud rapper XzavierStone appears on two tracks, steering the sound firmly into Auto-Tune R&B territory with results that feel both contemporary and timeless.
Baltimore singer Dawuna provides one of the album’s standout moments on Shm, a track that moans and groans like a lost D’Angelo collaboration. The hot’n’heavy quality of the production here creates something genuinely special, the kind of track that demands immediate replays.
What makes these features work so well is how Nueen integrates them into the album’s broader architecture. Rather than disrupting the subtle cycles of heating, simmering, and cooling that define Swerved, each guest appearance feels like a natural evolution of the record’s sonic journey.
The album moves through its runtime with a careful attention to pacing that suggests meticulous craftsmanship. There are no obvious transitions or jarring shifts in tone, instead Swerved flows as a continuous piece of work that demands to be heard in its entirety.
This Week’s Best New Tracks
Beyond the headline release, this week has delivered a rich crop of new music worth your attention.
Manchester duo Ceebo and Blanco team up for Gets Like Dat, a track that finds both British MCs in rich, riveting form. The flows here are as energised as anything you’d hear in a packed club, yet the underlying beat carries a mournful quality as both rappers get candid about the fear and paranoia that comes with attempting to make it in the rap game.
Colorado composer Kali Malone continues to push boundaries with Heavy With Fruit, an album recorded on the organ at Bach’s resting place. The record jettisons theoretical approaches in favour of intuitive emotion, with the music flickering like embers, the dying molten core of something that refuses to fully extinguish.
Japanese-American actor-model Kiko Mizuhara makes her musical debut with Feelin’ Wee, a cheeky exploration of love’s elusiveness. John Carroll Kirby provides puckish, squelchy keyboard work, with synths pinging to life like daisies bursting through the earth at warp speed.
Mercury-nominated Scottish jazz artist Corto.alto closes out his new album Some Small Fortune with Noblehill, a duet with Jacob Alon that represents an extraordinarily deft ballad. Alon’s vocals swoop through what sounds like a pattering rainshower of strings, piano and breakbeats, creating something genuinely beautiful.
Diiv return with Kid, fragile shoegaze that finds Zachary Cole Smith whispering that everyone is a little kid. Despite producer AG Cook’s synth toybox puckering away in the background, the track invites the kind of cosy, satisfying wallowing that fans of the genre crave.
Vancouver punk band Piss make good on their Sub Pop signing with Time Loop at Hot Slit, an uncompromising track that sees singer Taylor Zantingh howling over thrashing guitar and drums that viscerally stumble under their own weight.
Finally, Hamburg drummer Silvan Strauss delivers That’s Who?!? (Fast Barista), a joyous burst of acid jazz played at breakneck pace. Fans of Squarepusher’s electro-skronk masterpiece Music is Rotted One Note will find much to love here, with the brittle funk of Chicago footwork woven throughout.
Why it Matters
Swerved represents something increasingly rare in contemporary music: a fully realised artistic vision that refuses to compromise. In an era when artists frequently chase trends or dilute their sound for broader appeal, Nueen has delivered an album that feels entirely self-contained, operating by its own internal logic while still managing to be accessible to newcomers. The record’s success lies not in its individual moments but in its cumulative effect, building slowly and deliberately toward climaxes that feel almost inevitable. For those searching for music that challenges while simultaneously rewarding, Swerved should be considered essential listening.
