Credit: MPH
Substance
[By: MPH]
Genre: UK garage
Rating: 65
Cohesiveness: 80
Track quality: 66
Beginner-friendly? yes
Written 2026/01/05
UK garage protégé MPH takes a more conceptual approach to his sophomore album. It's still invigorated with the same clubby energy as his debut, but with a little bit of narrative spice - perhaps at the cost of track quality.
Just one year after his debut record Refraction, MPH hasn't lost any of the refreshing flavour he brings to the garage scene. Substance is an album infused with bounce, raised hands, and good times, all powered by the unique sound design and shuffling beats of an industry trailblazer. But it also tries to follow a narrative, something we haven't seen yet from MPH in full-length form.
The narrative MPH picks out is, unsurprisingly, very characteristic of garage. It follows a protagonist (of sorts), voiced mostly by EV - who narrates spoken-word monologues through the first two tracks and the final one, alongside snippets of storytelling during a transition - journeying through club/party culture in the UK in one hectic night. Substance captures it all: the euphoria of being lost in a rave; the brash, raw energy of the MC; the comedown in the taxi; and the emotional catharsis weaved into the tracks towards the end. This is an album that feels well-structured, and although its narrative is exceedingly simple, MPH manages to keep one eye trained on it the whole way through, constantly reminding you that Substance deserves your attention. The transitions between tracks put in a massive shift too, and they're generally seamless and tastefully done, which only helps its case.
But I can't shake the feeling that, purely on a track-by-track basis, Substance lacks the rhythmic, grungy, interesting qualities of MPH's other work - it doesn't feel quite as rich and diverse as Refraction did. Sure, there's the melodic and there's the intense, but it feels emptier and less engaging, almost as if MPH spent so long on the narrative aspect of the record that he didn't quite fill up the production side.
Typically, I value the cohesive aspects of an album over its track-by-track performance, but on Substance, the individual tracks feel almost... vacant. That's a big problem for a UK garage album like this one, because they lean heavily on bouncy energy and upbeat appeal, but the intricacy of MPH's production doesn't quite hold to those standards. MPH is certainly one of the newest leading figures of the industry for a reason, and his production value is generally very good - it's very good even on a lot of the cuts here - but it feels like he just missed the mark, he just had an off-day, he just came up short of a stellar album with Substance.
I don't want to make it seem like the very choice itself to include a narrative was the ultimate downfall of this album - I actually find it a very tasteful choice, one that lends itself well to UK garage, and one I'd love to see more of. In fact, the narrative Substance houses is arguably what keeps it afloat. Ironically, however, it feels like Substance doesn't quite have the substance to back it up.
Listen on Spotify here.
Euphoria [Structural] | (/100)
w/ EV
EV gives a nice spoken-word intro to the album's narrative, over a clean, padded, ambient backing from MPH. This track would probably have worked better fused with the next one, but I don't mind the way it's structured right now either.
Against The Clock [Fun] | (/100)
w/ EV
EV seamlessly continues his speech from "Euphoria", but MPH's garage beat fully kicks in now, building tension until the drop hits, at which point he brings in this lovely glassy synth lead to take over the track. Very fun track with a lot of simple and pure lyricism from EV.
Pre's [Intense] | (/100)
"Pre's" kicks this album into the next gear, immediately beginning with a much more engaged production style that evolves into a bassier, more intense UK garage cut which feels hard-hitting and energetic. The lead MPH introduces in the second half is just as classy, constantly demonstrating the dynamicism of his sound design and rhythm.
Bouncin' [Fun] | (/100)
w/ Sparkz
Sparkz is the MC of the show on "Bouncin'", and his flow is really very good, especially in his chorus, but I don't feel like MPH's production quite matches his energy properly. This track is great on paper, but there's a certain disconnect between the rap and the beat. The transition at the end is good, though, keeping the album on its feet.
Hold On [Melodic] | (/100)
MPH turns to a more melodic, brighter cut for "Hold On" to lend this album a more hopeful tone at this stage in the tracklist. The intention is well-meaning, and the idea feels well-placed, but despite having very good commercial appeal, I just get the feeling that "Hold On" doesn't quite have the impact the lead intended.
Run [Standout] | (/100)
w/ EV, Chris Lorenzo
EV's vocal hook feels pretty good, and the trajectory of this track in the album's context also feels good, I just think that lead is super goofy. I do wish it gave some more space to the other elements of the track, though, because they feel a little shoehorned in right now.
Until The Morning [Fun] | (/100)
MPH puts some bounce into this one, with a low bassline and a constant repeating sample. This would probably go off in a live environment, especially with that final drop, but doesn't quite back the same punch over headphones.
Untouchable [Standout] | (/100)
w/ Habstrakt
The club aesthetics are brought out the most in this track so far, with the big announcer samples coming on through the intro, and then moving into a very powerful bassy UK garage drop with plenty of wobbly influence from Habstrakt. This is simply a banger - nothing more, nothing less.
LA NYC [Fun] | (/100)
This one takes the energy of "Untouchable" and adjusts it a bit, adding in a new groovy lead and a couple of pretty great synth runs interjecting in between, with a polished sense of progression. Unfortunately, the sample is pretty annoying.
Alone [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ Carla Monroe
Carla Monroe's vocal is good, and MPH styles his melodic garage work to fit it well. "Alone" begins fairly inoffensively, but its progression through different synth sound design sets it apart.
ABC's [Upbeat] | (/100)
w/ AntsLive
This a very feel-good cut, with a shuffling beat and some carefree grime verses from AntsLive, alongside that jazzy main lead and the all-encompassing bassline. Arguably the standout feature is the rhythm, and the way the MPH and AntsLive interact through the track.
Vulnerable [Melodic] | (/100)
w/ Cameron Hayes
This track feels quite similar to "Alone", but Cameron Hayes' vocal gives it enough flair to differentiate itself, along with MPH's faster, more engaged production (as opposed to the progression-forward structuring on "Alone").
Substance [Structural] | (/100)
w/ EV
EV's thoughtful, quasi-spoken-word vocal makes a return in full, almost as a mirror to the start, as the album acknowledges its own ending with a reflective yet grateful closer and some nifty grooves from MPH to finish things off.
- Untouchable w/ Habstrakt (/100)
- Pre's (/100)
- ABC's w/ AntsLive (/100)
- Against The Clock w/ EV (/100)
- Alone w/ Carla Monroe (/100)
- Vulnerable w/ Cameron Hayes (/100)
- LA NYC (/100)
- Bouncin' w/ Sparkz (/100)
- Substance w/ EV (/100)
- Until The Morning (/100)
- Hold On (/100)
- Run w/ EV, Chris Lorenzo (/100)
- Euphoria w/ EV (/100)