Only Dust Remains
2025 studio album by Backxwash
Only Dust Remains
Studio album by
Backxwash
ReleasedMarch 28, 2025 (2025-03-28)
Genre
Length40:51
LabelUgly Hag Records
ProducerAshanti Mutinta
Backxwash chronology
His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering
(2022) 		Only Dust Remains
(2025)
Singles from Only Dust Remains
  1. "Wake Up"
    Released: April 17, 2024
  2. "9th Heaven"
    Released: February 27, 2025

Only Dust Remains is the fifth studio album by the Zambian-Canadian rapper Backxwash. It was self-released through Ugly Hag Records on March 28, 2025.

Release

In October 2024, Backxwash announced that she would be releasing a new album, with a release date set for February 2025.[1] The album was to include the single "Wake Up", which she had released earlier that year, on April 17, 2024.[2] Only Dust Remains was officially announced on January 28, 2025.[3] On February 27, she released the single "9th Heaven" from the album.[4][5] Backxwash released Only Dust Remains on March 28, 2025, through her label Ugly Hag Records.[6]

Critical reception

Only Dust Remains ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic86/100[7]
Review scores
SourceRating
Beats Per Minute76/100[8]
Cult MTL9/10[9]
Kerrang!StarStarStarStar[10]
The Needle Drop9/10[a]
Paste9.3/10[12]
Sputnikmusic4.4/5[13]

According to the review aggregator Metacritic, Only Dust Remains received "universal acclaim" based on a weighted average score of 86 out of 100 from 5 critic scores.[7] Mischa Pearlman of Kerrang! called it "a morbid, bleak and brilliant post-trilogy album" and further described it as "a dark album. A very dark album," yet highlighted its global awareness, with tracks like "History of Violence" mixing personal pain with political trauma. Pearlman concluded Only Dust Remains as a "brave, powerful and uncompromising album that holds nothing back".[10] Anthony Fantano praised Backxwash's creative evolution, noting that the album features "more of those different sides of her that we caught just a tiny, teensy-weensy bit of on the last record".[11] John Amen of Beats Per Minute wrote, "Mutinta isn’t retracting her take on the world; she’s unapologetic in her condemnation of our institutions and the way they impact our sense of worth (and/or lack of it). At the same time, she’s researching new sonic directions as well as a somewhat more paradoxical take on human life". He concluded, "Dust is ultimately a 'between' project; we’ll see where it leads".[14]

The album was longlisted for the 2025 Polaris Music Prize.[15]

Accolades

Publication Accolade Rank Ref.
HotNewHipHop The 40 Best Rap Albums Of 2025 28 [16]
Metal Hammer Top 50 Albums of 2025 28 [17]
Paste The 25 best rap albums of 2025 4 [18]
The Quietus Albums of the Year 2025 58 [19]
The Wire Releases of the Year 2025 24 [20]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Black Lazarus"4:58
2."Wake Up"7:08
3."Undesirable"3:23
4."9th Gate"1:16
5."9th Heaven"4:21
6."Dissociation" (featuring Chloe Hotline)5:02
7."History Of Violence"5:14
8."Stairway To Heaven" (featuring Ora Cogan)3:27
9."Love After Death"1:14
10."Only Dust Remains" (featuring pet wife, MAGELLA, Fernie, Morgan-Paige)4:45

Notes

  1. ^ Specifically, Fantano rated the album a "strong 8 to a light 9".[11]

References

  1. ^ Lapierre, Megan (October 31, 2024). "Backxwash to Release New Album in February 2025". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  2. ^ Lapierre, Megan (April 17, 2024). "Backxwash Returns with Homeric Single "WAKE UP"". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  3. ^ Green, Walden (January 28, 2025). "Backxwash Announces New Album Only Dust Remains". Pitchfork. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  4. ^ Lapierre, Megan (February 27, 2025). "Backxwash Details New Album 'Only Dust Remains,' Shares "9th Heaven"". Exclaim!. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  5. ^ Chelosky, Danielle (February 27, 2025). "Backxwash Announces New Album 'Only Dust Remains': Hear "9th Heaven"". Stereogum. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  6. ^ Argiropulos-Hunter, Zoë (April 4, 2025). "BACKXWASH Reemerges Creatively Energized with New Album "Only Dust Remains"". Also Cool Mag. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  7. ^ a b "Reviews for Only Dust Remains by Backxwash". Metacritic. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  8. ^ Amen, John (March 28, 2025). "Album Review: Backxwash – Only Dust Remains". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  9. ^ MacDonald, Darcy (April 14, 2025). "Backxwash, Only Dust Remains: REVIEW". Cult MTL. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  10. ^ a b Pearlman, Mischa (March 26, 2025). "Album review: Backxwash – Only Dust Remains". Kerrang!. Retrieved April 20, 2025.
  11. ^ a b Fantano, Anthony (April 18, 2025). "Backxwash - Only Dust Remains". The Needle Drop. Retrieved April 19, 2025.
  12. ^ Mitchell, Matt (March 28, 2025). "Backxwash Interrogates Paradoxes, Mental Illness and Injustice on Only Dust Remains". Paste. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  13. ^ S., Erwann (April 11, 2025). "Review: Backxwash - Only Dust Remains". Sputnikmusic. Retrieved April 23, 2025.
  14. ^ Amen, John (2025-03-28). "Album Review: Backxwash – Only Dust Remains". Beats Per Minute. Retrieved 2025-04-22.
  15. ^ Allie Gregory, "Polaris Music Prize Unveils 2025 Long List, Announces Song Prize". Exclaim!, June 10, 2025.
  16. ^ "The 40 Best Rap Albums Of 2025". HotNewHipHop. 2021-03-09. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  17. ^ Alderslade, Merlin (2025-12-11). ""This is definitely the best we've ever been." Ghost's Skeletá has been named the album of the year by Metal Hammer - read Tobias Forge's reaction and see our top 50 albums of 2025". Metal Hammer. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  18. ^ "The 25 best rap albums of 2025". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  19. ^ Clarke, Patrick (2025-12-01). "The Quietus Albums of the Year 2025 (In Association with Norman Records)". The Quietus. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  20. ^ "The Wire 503/504". The Wire Magazine. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
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