All I Need- Loyle Carner

All I Need marks Loyle Carner’s first release since his 2022 album Hugo, and while it unmistakably carries Carner’s signature touch, it also signals a subtle shift in direction. Known for his introspective, confessional style rooted in distinctly UK hip hop, Carner now stretches that form into new ambient and alternative sounds.

You can track Carner evolving in real time. His album Hugo was a darker, rawer dive into his inner world, confronting trauma like knife crime, identity, and family history, such as his relationship with his father. All I Need, by contrast, still dissects emotion with that same methodical approach, but does so in a way that feels less aggressive. 

I’ve heard people saying the first track All I Need sounds very Fontaines D.C. or Idles- esque, but I’ll counter that and suggest the sound here feels more aligned with King Krule or Mount Kimbie—artists who share Carner’s experimental, genre-fluid sensibilities. That connection isn’t coincidental: Carner (aka Master Mogli) and King Krule (aka Archy Marshall) went to school together and even released a track on SoundCloud years ago called Peaceofpiss. While All I Need still wields stark lyricism, there’s a new mastery in how Carner delivers it—less bound to structure, more open and exploratory. 

The lyric 'all these people having dreams, 'bout them people that they’ve seen without no interaction' feels like a quiet scream—an anxious reflection of our hyper-observational, disassociated culture. Carner’s repetition of the title phrase 'all I need' echoes like a mantra, a desperate yearning for escape he hasn’t quite found. The track builds steadily, with intensifying guitar riffs that give it a driving momentum. The tranquillity of Carner’s voice transitions from rapping into singing as he showcases a different emotional language to what we’ve previously heard.

All I Need is a song of urgency and warning. We perceive too much, we’ve become too observational for other people, but not ourselves. 

If All I Need offers an external critique of society’s tendency toward voyeuristic engagement with others’ lives at the expense of self-awareness, In My Mind shifts focus inward. They’re undeniably sister tracks. In My Mind is a more personal introspection from Carner that emerges once the act of external observation is consciously suspended. 

This track, more so than All I Need, explores singing and lyricism over rapping. The guitar riffs feel hazier, and sun drenched, almost reminiscent of the sunlit looping riff in Ice Water from his album Not Waving But Drowning. Ambience is prioritised, with the guitar acting less as a rhythmic anchor and more as a textural element that allows for emotion to take precedence. 

The lyric 'But why it’s always me / Why I never think before I’m speaking, yeah' encapsulates the emotional core of In My Mind. Much like the tracks on Hugo, this song continues Carner’s exploration of the self. It becomes clear is that turning inward isn’t a simple act of self-care or clarity; Carner shows that it’s messy and doubtful. Through both tracks, Carner explains that self-awareness is difficult. It can spiral into self-criticism rather than peace. Carner’s lyrics clearly doesn’t rely on elaborate metaphor; instead, he speaks plainly, allowing raw honesty to carry the emotional weight. It’s refreshing. And allows us as listeners to experience his thoughts as they come and go.

I feel like Loyle Carner has grown perpendicularly alongside my music taste’s growth. I needed the nostalgia of Yesterday’s Gone in 2017 and the breeziness of Not Waving But Drowning in 2019 while I was blasting Willow Smith and Greentea Peng in a field. Just like I needed grittiness of Hugo in 2022 and this new more ambient Loyle Carner in 2025. Once again, I’m blown away by Carner’s ability to translate emotion into music and mark my words this EP will be my summer soundtrack. 

“TAKE THESE WORDS AND GO FORWARDS!! ” (Loyle Carner, 2022)

Faith Hussain

---

Edited by Alice Beard

Single cover courtesy of Loyle Carner, video courtesy of Loyle Carner on Youtube