This is the 2nd EP & Potent Funk Records debut from Colchester, Essex, England, United Kingdom emcee Dream McLean. Emerging in the late 2000s/early 2010s off the I’m the British Dream duology & The Purple Promo trilogy of mixtapes respectively, he would later make his full-length debut the day prior to my 18th birthday during my senior year of high school with Greyscale preluded by his debut extended play Weatherman. 6 years later & the ALIEN! has returned after signing a label deal.

“Orange” blends rap rock & trap talking about being Ashton Kutcher with the flow the way we’re getting Punk’d whereas “Ameri” goes for an uncanny vibe to the beat keeping it movie despite reality itself. “D.W.” has a more lo-fi trap approach instrumentally talking about bad news coming in 3s while the lead single “E.T.” began the rollout by skillfully capturing his wordplay. “Out” leans towards a hazier sound continuing the witty penmanship & the syrupy “Tuff” concludes with him taking about sticking to your guns even if they’re jammed.

Notable for being amongst the most underrated artists within the UK hip hop scene, ALIEN! begins this new chapter of Dream McLean’s career spanning an entire decade by preluding a sophomore effort entirely produced by Potent Funk co-founder Sumgii with an EP that reaffirms the fact that Dream’s sound has gotten more laidback after all the drugs he’s been taking & him deciding to handle all the vocal performances by himself putting us inside the shoes of an outsider.

Score: 3.5/5