Facing Time

Taut, aggressive and perfectly realised, <i>Facing Time</i> sees Bugzy Malone continue to rep Manchester with pride. His second album (recorded with the spectre of prison time looming) provides a confident snapshot of where grime proudly sits in 2016. The success of breakthrough <i>Walk with Me</i> has failed to blunt Malone’s edge—“Late Night in the 0161” swaggers by with infectious bravado and “Mosh Pit Gang” is electric—but there’s an impressive coherence to this collection’s batch of bangers.