Album Review: Hopefully ! by Loyle Carner

On his fourth album, Loyle Carner introduces a warm, introspective space defined by personal growth and cautious optimism. It glows with raw humanity and hard-won optimism.

Courtesy of EMI Records.

On his fourth album, hopefully !, Loyle Carner introduces a warm, introspective space defined by personal growth and cautious optimism. It’s a notable evolution from 2022’s Hugo, an album that confronted identity and pain with tightly coiled intensity. By contrast, Hopefully ! trades Hugo’s abrasion for a gentler, more loose-limbed sound built on live band instrumentation and soulful, indie-tinged grooves. The London rapper has stepped out of his comfort zone here; not only does he continue his earnest, confessional storytelling, but he also takes on new roles behind the scenes. In a series of firsts, Carner handles more of the production duties himself, effectively “accidentally forming the band of his dreams” in the studio. This LP is bathed in a mellow, sunlit glow, yet punctuated with fresh musical choices that keep it from ever feeling stagnant.

From the opening moments, Hopefully ! makes its family focus clear. The very first notes of the album’s opener, “Feel at Home,” feature Carner’s young son playing a few playful xylophone notes, a sweet and intimate touch that immediately sets a comforting mood. The song itself unfolds as a sentimental love letter, wrapped in “comfortingly toasty” chords and feathery beats that create a sense of domestic bliss. Much of Hopefully ! sways with this kind of easygoing, soulful warmth: gently plucked guitar figures, dreamy piano melodies, and soft-edged percussion give the record a relaxed, blissful undertone. It’s the kind of album that often feels like basking in late-afternoon sunlight, enriched by Carner’s own repeated imagery of the sun and sky. But if this sounds like a retreat into musical safety, Carner ensures that comfort never becomes bland. Throughout the album, he allows slight imperfections and surprises to shine through, a child’s distant chatter behind the chords, a crack in his voice, a candid chuckle; all of which reinforce the organic, “home movie” atmosphere he’s cultivating.

One of the most striking aspects of this record is Carner’s newfound confidence as a vocalist. After three albums of primarily rapping, here he tentatively sings in a low, unaffected croon on multiple songs, adding a new texture to his sound. By his admission, this development came about somewhat by chance; longtime producer Avi Barath coaxed him into recording a scratch vocal that ultimately stayed on the album. Whatever the origin, it’s a rewarding experiment. Whenever Carner slips into singing, his gentle baritone cuts through the sweetness of the instrumentation “like a squeeze of lemon,” bringing a tangy hint of vulnerability. The technique works beautifully on tracks like “In My Mind,” one of the album’s standout songs. That track finds Carner exploring a more indie-rock palette, pairing his introspective verses and hushed singing with loose, clattering drums and hazy guitar tones that wouldn’t feel out of place on a King Krule record. An exceptional cut that anchors the album, feels like the emotional heartbeat of the project, born from what Carner calls an “unintended moment of vulnerability” when he dared to use his voice as an instrument. By embracing this unfiltered approach, Carner infuses Hopefully ! with a spacious, soulful quality that is new to his catalog, reflecting an artist still willing to experiment and grow.

Loyle Carner’s sound expands here without abandoning the mellow hip-hop soul that fans love. Many tracks are driven by a live band, lending an improvisational, jam-session feel to the record. Instead of complex, programmed beats or heavy gloss, the production here emphasizes warmth and breathing room. On “All I Need,” for instance, a simple mantra-like refrain builds gradually over layered keys and subtle drums, swelling into something like a prayer of gratitude. “Lyin,” on the other hand, plays like a lullaby stretched thin by new-parent anxiety; its gentle, dreamy melody is shot through with lyrics that turn fear into surreal poetry. Carner’s voice on “Lyin” is nearly a whisper, as if he’s singing his newborn to sleep while confessing his private worries into the night. These kinds of intimate production choices—from the jazz-flecked cymbal rhythms on “Horcrux” that echo the lonely rattling of a tour bus to the distant ambient noises of kids playing that fade in and out—make the album feel alive and lived-in. Everything sounds close and comforting, but not overly polished. Even when Carner’s sentimental streak risks being “a bit too nice,” as it occasionally did on his early records, the newfound cracks and edges in his delivery add texture. He has refined his craft to strike the sweet spot between sincerity and subtle grit, ensuring the album’s kindness never turns cloying.

Carner continues the tradition of deep introspection and openhearted honesty, now filtered through the lens of fatherhood and adulthood. The 30-year-old rapper has always worn his heart on his sleeve, from songs about losing loved ones and living with ADHD to spoken-word tributes to family, and that vulnerability remains his strength. Here, he tackles the profound life changes he’s experienced in recent years, especially becoming a father of two. Parenting is the album’s central theme, explored with a mix of wonder, fear, and determination. On the title track “Hopefully,” Carner pointedly asks, “You give me hope in humankind, but are humans kind?/I don’t know but I hope so,” recapping the cautious optimism that defines the record. He’s grappling with the state of the world his child will inherit, yet choosing hope over despair. In fact, “Hopefully” features a powerful cameo from the late poet Benjamin Zephaniah, whose spoken-word interlude (accompanied by the wail of distant sirens) stresses that hope often arises not from naivety but from necessity. It’s a brief reminder of reality that racism, injustice, and unrest are still out there, but Carner counters it with the protective, loving bubble he’s trying to create for his family.

Throughout the album, Carner balances external concerns with intensely personal reflections. He voices feelings of alienation and self-doubt in candid fashion. On “In My Mind,” he even catches himself spiraling into “myopic self-obsession,” acknowledging flaws and the temptation to shut out friends. Meanwhile, the song “Horcrux” finds him dissecting the loneliness of life on the road, spitting tightly wound bars about missing home over moody, jazz-inflected beats. There’s raw self-critique as well—on “Lyin”, he delivers one of the album’s most cutting lines, confessing he feels “trained to kill, to love I never had the skill,” a harsh self-assessment that stands in stark contrast to the heartfelt music he creates. Yet even when he wades into darker waters, Carner never leaves the listener in despair. He often frames these admissions as part of a healing process, a way to confront his fears so he can move past them. And more often than not, he circles back to a place of gratitude. “Strangers,” for example, ponders distance in relationships, but its singsong chorus, softly murmured in Carner’s new semi-sung style, feels tender and hopeful rather than bitter. Hopefully ! is resolutely uplifting. It doesn’t pretend life is perfect, but instead, it finds solace in small moments and human connections as an antidote to the chaos outside.

New York rapper-producer Navy Blue appears on the track “Purpose,” which unfolds as a luminous back-and-forth meditation on what keeps them going in hard times. Over a glowing beat, Carner and Navy Blue trade thoughtful verses, essentially reassuring each other—and us—that family and love give their lives meaning, even when trauma weighs them down. The chemistry between the two is natural; Navy Blue’s mellow, Earl Sweatshirt-like flow dovetails with Carner’s style, and indeed Carner himself adopts a “downbeat, lazier rap flow” on this song and others that recalls that underground hip-hop vibe.

Later in the album, Nick Hakim lends his gentle, ethereal touch to “Don’t Fix It.” Hakim’s soulful vocals echo in the background like a calming apparition, enveloping Carner’s laid-back verses in a dreamy haze. In this contemplative track, Carner almost dissolves into the soft atmosphere, his rap floats among reverberating pianos and Hakim’s ghostly harmonies, reinforcing the album’s theme of finding peace in stillness. These collaborations never steal the spotlight from Carner, as they act as complementary voices in the album’s conversation about growth and hope. Even Carner’s own family makes vital cameo appearances. The voices of children, whether his son’s babbling or other kids’ laughter, peek through several songs, uncredited but crucial in creating the record’s lived-in, homey feel. It’s as if the entire community around Carner is present in the music, supporting his passage.

Loyle Carner paints a portrait of an artist evolving in real time, both musically and personally. The live-band arrangements and Carner’s increased role in production give the album a richer, more organic sound than anything he’s done before, yet it still unmistakably carries his DNA. The grooves are laid-back, the mood often “relaxed and blissful,” but underneath there’s a sense of discovery and renewal. This is Carner embracing change: he’s a new father, a burgeoning producer, a rapper willing to sing, and he channels all of these facets into the music. The progression from Hugo to Hopefully ! is palpable. Where Hugo was fueled by righteous anger and the need to confront a painful past, Hopefully ! dares to “imagine inherited joy” and focus on the present beauty of family life. It finds Loyle Carner comfortable with ambiguity, no longer needing to raise his voice to make a point; he lets the quiet confidence of love and hope do the talking.

As “About Time” gently closes the album, the journey feels complete. In a touching full-circle moment, Carner’s toddler son’s voice emerges once more, babbling softly over fading instrumentation. It’s a simple, heartwarming epilogue that reinforces everything Hopefully ! stands for the idea that in life’s toughest moments, the ones we love can guide us back to light. As a whole, the album emanates a warm, comforting atmosphere, listening feels like sitting with a close friend as they candidly share their worries and dreams, with a cup of tea on the table and sunlight in the room. Loyle Carner has never sounded more at ease with himself. He wears the hats of rapper, singer, producer, and father all at once, and in doing so, he delivers perhaps his most impressive work to date. Hopefully ! glows with raw humanity and hard-won optimism, showing us an artist mid-metamorphosis yet utterly grounded. It’s a heartfelt celebration of growth, family, and the cautious hope that, despite all the uncertainties, “tomorrow might be gentler.”

Great (★★★★☆)

Favorite Track(s): “In My Mind,” “Hopefully,” “Purpose”