Hopefully!

Hopefully!
Studio album by
Loyle Carner
Released20 June 2025 (2025-06-20)
GenreHip-hop
Length37:44
LabelVirgin EMI
Producer
  • Loyle Carner
  • Aviram Barath
  • Nick Mills
  • Harvey Grant
  • Zach Nahome
  • EMIL
  • FloFilz
  • Nick Hakim
Loyle Carner chronology
Hugo
(2022) 		Hopefully!
(2025)
Singles from Hopefully!
  1. "All I Need / In My Mind"
    Released: 9 April 2025
  2. "About Time / Lyin"
    Released: 6 May 2025
  3. "Time to Go"
    Released: 16 June 2025

Hopefully! (stylised as hopefully !) is the fourth studio album by English hip-hop artist Loyle Carner. It was released on 20 June 2025 through Virgin EMI Records and features guest appearances from Navy Blue and Nick Hakim.

Background

Hopefully! comes after Loyle Carner's critically acclaimed 2022 album, Hugo. On 9 April 2025, Loyle Carner released the double single "All I Need / In My Mind".[1] On 23 April, he announced the album's title and release date.[2] The following day, he announced a world tour in support of the album.[3]

On 6 May 2025, Loyle Carner released another double single, "About Time / Lyin".[4] The self-directed music video for "Lyin" was released on 20 May 2025.[5] In an interview with Billboard, Loyle Carner discussed how becoming a father of two has shaped his creative process and influenced the themes of fatherhood and personal growth on Hopefully!.[6]

The final single, "Time to Go", was released on 16 June 2025.[7] That same day, the tracklist of the album was revealed.

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
AnyDecentMusic?7.8/10[8]
Metacritic82/100[9]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[10]
Clash8/10[11]
DIY[12]
The Guardian[13]
NME[14]
The Line of Best Fit8/10[15]

Upon release, Hopefully! was met with widespread acclaim from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalised rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 9 critical reviews, indicating "universal acclaim".[9]

Peter Martin of DIY called the album "as moving as it is musically satisfying".[12] Writing in The Guardian, Rachel Aroesti described Carner's songwriting as "magical", and said Hopefully! is his "most impressive work to date".[13] Liberty Dunworth of NME wrote that on the album Loyle Carner "broadens his horizons", and that "this isn't just Loyle Carner at his most refined, it is the start of a new chapter".[14] Aimee Phillips of Clash commented that "while 'hopefully!' is thematically rich, it’s not adventurous sonically" and that it "isn't trying to be groundbreaking. It's trying to be honest".[11] Reviewing the album for The Line of Best Fit, Riley Moquin wrote that "vocally, the rapper pushes his boundaries more than perhaps ever before".[15]

Commercial performance

In its first charting week, Hopefully! opened at number-two on the UK Albums Chart with sales of 17,245, marking it his highest charting album in the country.[16][17]

Track listing

Hopefully! track listing
No.TitleWriter(s)Producer(s)Length
1."Feel at Home"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Nahome
2:34
2."In My Mind"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Finn Carter
  • Harvey Grant
  • Joe MacLaren
  • Mark Mollison
  • Mills
  • Richard Spaven
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Grant
4:09
3."All I Need"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
3:33
4."Lyin"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Marla Kether
  • Mills
  • Spaven
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Grant[a]
3:58
5."Time to Go"
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Carter
  • MacLaren
  • Mollison
  • Mills
  • Spaven
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Grant[a]
3:29
6."Horcrux"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Carter
  • Grant
  • MacLaren
  • Mills
  • Spaven
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Grant[a]
3:30
7."Strangers"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Grant
  • Mills
  • Nahome
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Nahome
  • Grant[a]
2:35
8."Hopefully !" (with Benjamin Zephaniah)
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Grant
  • Mills
  • Nahome
2:51
9."Purpose" (with Navy Blue)
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • EMIL
  • FloFilz
  • Mills
  • Grant[a]
3:17
10."Don't Fix It" (with Nick Hakim)
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Nick Hakim
  • Mills
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Hakim
  • Mills
4:24
11."About Time"
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Barath
  • Coyle-Larner
  • Mills
  • Grant[a]
3:18
Total length:37:44

Notes

  • ^[a] signifies an additional producer.
  • All track titles are stylised in all lowercase.[18]
  • "Hopefully !" samples a clip of Benjamin Zephaniah's speech on the Brixton riots.[6]

Personnel

Credits adapted from Tidal.[19]

Musicians

  • Loyle Carner – vocals
  • Aviram Barath – synthesizer (tracks 1–8, 10, 11), piano (1–3, 5, 8), background vocals (2), drum machine (3, 6), vocals (3, 11); bass guitar, glockenspiel (7); Mellotron (10), guitar (11)
  • Calum Duncan – guitar (1, 3), bass guitar (1)
  • Zach Nahome – programming (1), guitar (7)
  • Harvey Grant – sampler (2, 8), background vocals (2), synthesizer (3–8, 11), vocals (6), guitar (7), saxophone (8)
  • Richard Spaven – drums (2–6, 11), background vocals (2)
  • Finn Carter – background vocals, Rhodes (2); synthesizer (5), piano (6, 11)
  • Mark Mollison – guitar (2, 3, 5), background vocals (2)
  • Joe MacLaren – bass guitar (2, 5, 6), background vocals (2)
  • Nick Mills – guitar (3, 4, 7, 8, 11), Rhodes (3), background vocals (8), synthesizer (10)
  • Marla Kether – bass guitar (3, 4)
  • Imraan Peleker – guitar (3, 4)
  • Rosie Lowe – background vocals (4, 9), vocals (6, 11)
  • Puma Blue – background vocals (5)
  • Benjamin Zephaniah – spoken word (8)
  • Navy Blue – vocals (9)
  • Nick Hakim – guitar, Mellotron, vocals (10)
  • Yves Fernandez – bass guitar (11)

Technical

  • Lexxx – mixing
  • Nick Mills – mixing (1, 4–11), engineering (all tracks)
  • Matt Colton – mastering
  • Neil Goody – engineering (3), engineering assistance (1, 2, 6–9, 11)
  • Dan Cox – engineering (3–5), engineering assistance (6–9, 11)
  • Aviram Barath – engineering (10)
  • Ary Maudit – engineering assistance (6)
  • Liam Weiland – engineering assistance (7, 8)
  • Katie Foreman – engineering assistance (7)
  • Jack Manning – engineering assistance (10)

Charts

Chart performance for Hopefully!
Chart (2025) Peak
position
Australian Albums (ARIA)[20] 43
Australian Hip Hop/R&B Albums (ARIA)[21] 7
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[22] 5
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Wallonia)[23] 150
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[24] 13
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[25] 17
Irish Albums (IRMA)[26] 52
New Zealand Albums (RMNZ)[27] 29
Scottish Albums (OCC)[28] 4
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[29] 31
UK Albums (OCC)[30] 2
UK R&B Albums (OCC)[31] 1

References

  1. ^ Richards, Will (10 April 2025). "Loyle Carner returns with two new songs, 'All I Need' and 'In My Mind'". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  2. ^ Graye, Megan (25 April 2025). "Loyle Carner announces brand new album 'Hopefully!'". DIY. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  3. ^ Dunworth, Liberty (24 April 2025). "Loyle Carner announces new album 'Hopefully!' and 2025 world tour". NME. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  4. ^ Graye, Megan (7 May 2025). "Loyle Carner drops two more singles 'About Time / Lyin' ahead of new album 'Hopefully!'". DIY. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  5. ^ Taylor, Sam (21 May 2025). "Loyle Carner has shared a self-directed music video for his new single 'lyin'". Dork. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  6. ^ a b Smith, Thomas (24 April 2025). "Loyle Carner On How Fatherhood and Hitting 30 Shaped His Indie-Inspired New LP: ' I'm A Person I Never Thought I Could Become'". Billboard. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  7. ^ Loyle Carner [@LoyleCarner] (16 June 2025). "one last song before hopefully ! drops friday time to go, out now" (Tweet). Retrieved 20 June 2025 – via Twitter.
  8. ^ "hopefully! by Loyle Carner reviews". AnyDecentMusic?. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  9. ^ a b "Hopefully ! by Loyle Carner". Metacritic. Retrieved 21 June 2025.
  10. ^ Simpson, Paul. "hopefully ! – Loyle Carner". AllMusic. Retrieved 24 June 2025.
  11. ^ a b Phillips, Aimee (19 June 2025). "Loyle Carner – hopefully! Soulful and settled - this is the London wordsmith at his most creative". Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  12. ^ a b Martin, Peter (20 June 2025). "Album Review: Loyle Carner - hopefully". DIY. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  13. ^ a b Aroesti, Rachel (19 June 2025). "Loyle Carner: Hopefully! review – rap sweetheart faces family, fear and the feels". The Guardian. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  14. ^ a b Dunworth, Liberty (20 June 2025). "Loyle Carner – 'Hopefully!' review: a masterful balance of melancholy and perseverance". NME. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  15. ^ a b Moquin, Riley (19 June 2025). "Loyle Carner finds purpose in love and family on hopefully!". The Line of Best Fit. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  16. ^ Jones, Alan (27 June 2025). "Charts analysis: Yungblud lands third consecutive No.1 album". Music Week. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  17. ^ Smith, Carl (27 June 2025). "Yungblud lands Number 1 album hat-trick with Idols". Official Charts. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  18. ^ "hopefully ! by Loyle Carner on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  19. ^ "hopefully ! / Loyle Carner / Credits". Tidal. Retrieved 20 June 2025.
  20. ^ "ARIA Top 50 Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  21. ^ "ARIA Top 40 Hip Hop/R&B Albums Chart". Australian Recording Industry Association. 30 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  22. ^ "Ultratop.be – Loyle Carner – Hopefully!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  23. ^ "Ultratop.be – Loyle Carner – Hopefully!" (in French). Hung Medien. Retrieved 29 June 2025.
  24. ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – Loyle Carner – Hopefully!" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  25. ^ "Offiziellecharts.de – Loyle Carner – Hopefully!" (in German). GfK Entertainment Charts. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  26. ^ "IRMA – Irish Charts (Week 26, 2025)". Irish Recorded Music Association. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  27. ^ "NZ Top 40 Albums Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 27 June 2025.
  28. ^ "Official Scottish Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  29. ^ "Swisscharts.com – Loyle Carner – Hopefully!". Hung Medien. Retrieved 30 June 2025.
  30. ^ "Official Albums Chart Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
  31. ^ "Official R&B Albums Chart Top 40". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 28 June 2025.
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