Little Simz Lotus
Little Simz's Lotus opens like a dare and mostly delivers: critics agree the record channels fury, vulnerability and a newfound creative rebirth into songs that sting and sooth in equal measure. With a consensus score of 85.4 across 10 professional reviews, reviewers consistently point to punchy, uncluttered production and confessional lyricism as the album's strengths, making clear why searches for "Lotus review" and "best songs on Lotus" repeatedly surface the same highlights.
Across reviews the standout tracks emerge plainly. “Thief” is cited almost universally as the album's incendiary opener, a distilled expression of anger and catharsis; critics also flag the title track “Lotus”, “Blood”, “Lion” and “Lonely” as signature moments that blend Afrobeat, acid-soul and sparse jazz-rock textures. Professional reviews praise how textured production - from Hitchcockian synths to punk-driven basslines - gives space to Simz's razor-edged delivery and moments of tender confession, so that the best tracks on Lotus read as both personal reckonings and public statements.
Not all critics are unanimous: some note uneven flows and a few tracks that feel tonally displaced, yet the prevailing critical consensus frames Lotus as a daring, genre-blending step in Simz's evolution. Reviewers consistently highlight themes of trauma, family pressure, redemption and resilience, concluding that while the record can be raw and unflinching, it succeeds as a focused, emotionally honest chapter in her catalogue. For readers asking "is Lotus good" or "should I listen to Lotus" the short answer from critics is yes - especially for those hunting the best songs on Lotus like “Thief” and “Blood”.
Critics' Top Tracks
The standout songs that made critics take notice
Thief
9 mentions
"the cinematic slink of opener ‘Thief’ (an eviscerating account of personal betrayal)"— DIY Magazine
Lotus
9 mentions
"the hard-edged majesty of the title track, on which Simz’s bite stands in striking contrast to the salve of Michael Kiwanuka and Yussef Dayes"— DIY Magazine
Blood (Wretch 32)
1 mention
"the arresting exchange of ‘Blood’ (a Wretch 32-featuring mediation on sibling dynamics and disconnect)"— DIY Magazine
the cinematic slink of opener ‘Thief’ (an eviscerating account of personal betrayal)
Track Ratings
How critics rated each track, relative to this album (0-100). Only tracks that made critics feel something are rated.
Thief
Flood
Young
Only
Free
Peace
Hollow
Lion
Enough
Blood
Lotus
Lonely
Blue
What Critics Are Saying
Deep insights from 12 critics who reviewed this album
Critic's Take
Little Simz sounds in command on Lotus, and the best songs - notably “Thief” and “Hollow” - crystallize that grit and clarity. Matthew Ritchie frames “Thief” as an invigorating opener that lands like a diss track, while “Hollow” lets Simz temper rapid-fire bars into plainspoken blows. The production’s uncluttered jazz and rock touches let these tracks breathe, making them the clearest answers to "best tracks on Lotus" and the album’s emotional centerpieces. Overall, the record feels like a slash-and-burn renewal where focused songwriting yields the standout moments listeners will return to when searching for the best songs on Lotus.
Key Points
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The best song is "Thief" because it functions as an invigorating, focused diss-track that crystallizes the album's themes.
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The album’s core strengths are Simz’s candid, plainspoken delivery and unfussy jazz/rock-inflected production that foregrounds her clarity.
Themes
Critic's Take
In her vivid, analytical tone Leah Fan argues that Little Simz has perhaps delivered her best work with Lotus, where standout songs like “Thief” and “Blue” crystallize the album's ambition. The review foregrounds the punchy opener “Thief” and the closing ballad “Blue” as key examples of Simz's range, from punk-driven basslines to intimate, rhetorical writing. Fan emphasizes how tracks such as “Peace” and “Hollow” balance heavy emotion with soothing instrumentation, reinforcing why these are among the best tracks on Lotus.
Key Points
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The best song, particularly “Thief”, is best because it announces the album's depth with punk-driven bass and confident tone.
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The album's core strengths are genre-blending arrangements, introspective lyricism, and emotional paradoxes between heavy themes and soothing instrumentation.
Themes
Critic's Take
On Little Simz's Lotus the best songs - notably “Peace” and “Free” - embody a bruised, triumphant centre, where breathless anger and cinematic soul collide. Barker writes with giddy certitude that Lotus is an affirmation, the best revenge being to simply be better, and those tracks crystallise that argument. The record toes the line between mourning and celebration, and songs like “Peace” serve as proof that the highs here are higher and the lows dissolved. Read as a reinvention of Grey Area, the strongest tracks on Lotus carry Simz's voice through mirrored production into something defiantly hers.
Key Points
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“Peace” is best for its Cleo Sol-adjacent vocal and role in the album's cinematic soundscape.
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Lotus' core strengths are emotional resilience, high production sheen, and reinvention of past work.
Themes
Critic's Take
Little Simz makes a startling claim with Lotus, and the best songs on Lotus - notably “Thief” and “Blood” - are where she feels most alive and dangerously direct. The record’s standout moments, from the grunge-thrash of “Thief” to the sibling-argument bar trade of “Blood”, make the best tracks on Lotus feel like living inside her skin. Where she softens into empathy, songs such as “Free” and “Blue” reveal why these are also among the best songs on Lotus: they balance hard-earned wisdom with tenderness. Overall, Lotus’s production and candor turn personal fallout into fiercely compelling music.
Key Points
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“Thief” is the best song because its jarring, grunge-thrash production and cutting lyrics make the album feel viscerally personal.
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The album’s core strengths are candid lyricism and textured, genre-spanning production that balance danger and empathy.
Themes
Critic's Take
Little Simz approaches Lotus with the same restless imagination and theatrical sweep that has defined her career, and the best songs - notably “Enough” and “Thief” - crystallise that ambition. Carter revels in the album's contrasts, from the cinematic slink of “Thief” to the irresistibly danceable funk of “Enough”, arguing these are the tracks most likely to linger. The title track and collaborations like “Blood” and “Lion” broaden the record's palette without diluting Simz's fierce centre. In short, the best tracks on Lotus pair big, bold production with Simz's precise, probing lyricism, making them standout moments on an album about growth and doubt.
Key Points
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“Enough” is best because it combines irresistible danceability with hooky production and single potential.
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The album's core strengths are bold experimentation, theatrical production, and candid vulnerability.
Themes
Critic's Take
In a white-hot, razor-edged record the best songs on Lotus are those that channel personal fury into riveting spectacle. Little Simz skulks like a film noir antihero on “Thief”, where Hitchcockian synths and violin flurries make it one of the album’s standout tracks. She turns contempt into cinema on “Hollow”, the lines there crackle with accusation and raw storytelling. Equally, “Young” shows her narrative gifts, shifting from a genteel drawl to punkish bite, which cements it among the best tracks on Lotus for its dramatic range and emotional immediacy.
Key Points
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“Thief” is best for its cinematic production and Simz’s hushed, predatory delivery.
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The album’s core strengths are theatrical instrumentation, sharp storytelling, and cathartic confrontation of betrayal and self-doubt.
Themes
Critic's Take
Little Simz keeps the confessional centre stage on Lotus, and the best songs on Lotus are the ones that wear that honesty openly, like “Thief”, “Lonely” and the title track “Lotus”. The reviewer's voice prizes the rawness of “Thief” - where Simz's growl and venom land with devastating clarity - and points to “Lonely” as the album's emotional epicentre. Praise sits alongside critique too, noting that some flows drag and that tracks such as “Blood” feel out of place, but ultimately the album's best tracks win because they turn pain into hard-won clarity.
Key Points
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‘Lonely’ is the album's emotional epicentre because it strips Simz bare with heavy, harrowing honesty.
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The album's core strengths are its raw introspection and resilient, redemptive moments that turn betrayal into affirmation.
Themes
Critic's Take
Little Simz tackles trauma head-on on Lotus, turning anger into combustible artistry. The review singles out “Thief” as distilled rage and applauds “Blood” as one of her finest, a sibling conversation swinging from rancour to devotion. The title track, “Lotus”, is described as a wracked slice of acid-soul driven by Yussef Dayes and Michael Kiwanuka, while “Young” and “Lion” provide wit and irresistible Afrobeat lift. Overall, Mojo hears an album that channels pain into potency and keeps brilliance within reach.
Key Points
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"Blood" is the standout for its emotional complexity and is called one of Simz's finest works.
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The album's core strength is channeling trauma and anger into combustible, collaborative music that blends Afrobeat and acid-soul.
Themes
Critic's Take
Little Simz arrives with Lotus as a confessional bloom, and the review makes clear the best songs are the ones that expose her most human moments. The standout tracks for me are “Blood”, whose experimental exchanges with Wretch 32 snag palpable emotion, and the title track “Lotus”, which unravels her introspection with Michael Kiwanuka's comforting lines. There is also a surprising lightness to “Young” that signals new creative playfulness, so those searching for the best songs on Lotus should start with those three. This album is less about commercial pyrotechnics and more about soul-searching craft, which is where its strengths lie.
Key Points
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The best song is "Blood" for its experimental, emotionally raw exchanges with Wretch 32.
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The album's core strengths are introspective songwriting, emotional candor, and stylistic breadth.
Themes
Re
Critic's Take
On Lotus Little Simz balances darkness and levity, and the best songs underline that tension. The review singles out “Flood” as charged with anger and driven by a relentless bassline, while “Free” offers a relaxed, summery respite. Those two tracks emerge as the standout moments, exemplifying the album's innovative shifts between punk, samba and soul, and Simz's insistence on emotional honesty. Overall the record is consistently innovative and committed, making “Flood” and “Free” the must-hear highlights.
Key Points
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The best song is “Flood” because it channels anger with a relentless bassline that defines the album's intensity.
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The album's core strengths are emotional honesty, genre-hopping innovation, and committed performances across varied styles.