Hailing from Richmond, Virginia, Travis Miller, aka Lil Ugly Mane, became known in the early 2010s for his grimey, satirical brand of Memphis rap and horrorcore revivalism drawing from the work of Three Six Mafia and Tommy Wright III. Miller’s 2012 record, Mista Thug Isolation, filtered these influences through dense, murky chopped and screwed production, garnering acclaim and immediately turning Lil Ugly Mane into an online sensation in the underground rap community. Miller expanded his sonic palette with his Three Sided Tape series, incorporating eclectic influences from all over the music landscape, including black metal, noise, punk, and electronica. During this time, he also released noise, black metal, experimental hip-hop, and industrial music under a wide variety of pseudonyms. His last full-length release under the Lil Ugly Mane name, 2015’s Oblivion Access, further integrated Miller’s penchant for noise into his dissonant and depressive style of hip-hop.

Nearly 6 years after Oblivion Access, Lil Ugly Mane returns with Volcanic Bird Enemy and The Voiced Concern, his largest sonic divergence yet. On Volcanic Bird, Miller pushes the limits of genre fusion, concocting hypnagogic and plunderphonic blends of psychedelia, rock, folk, and trip hop. He trades the menacing, aggressive delivery of his previous records for sung vocals, portraying himself as an indie singer/songwriter by performing over samples of everything from ragtime jazz loops on “Styrofoam” to children’s theme park melodies on “With Iron & Bleach & Accidents”. Despite these stark stylistic shifts, the nihilistic and apathetic attitude Miller established on previous works remains a main theme throughout Volcanic Bird, this time manifesting itself in the form of dejected ballads depicting a drug-addled journey to rock bottom.

The project’s first major highlight, “Benadryl Submarine,” submerges the listener deep underwater with reverb-heavy trip hop drums, echoing guitar loops, twinkling chimes, and melancholic lead vocals describing heavy drug use as a means to cope with an abusive relationship. On “Headboard,” a track Miller originally released on Bandcamp under his Bedwetter moniker in 2020, heavy layers of grunge-informed guitar distortion meld with hovering synth melodies to create a deceptively optimistic shoegaze epic. The project closes with “Porcelain Slightly,” another rock infused cut whose transcendent, boisterous riffs end the project on an instrumental high note.

Listen to "Volcanic Bird Enemy and the Voiced Concern" below, and follow Lil Ugly Mane on Instagram @manwearinghelmet to see where he goes next.

Written By Finnegan Smith

Featured