Only Dust Remains by Backxwash | Album Review

The fourth album from the trans Zambian-Canadian rapstress showcases major sonic evolution executed with aplomb.

Over the seven years since Ashanti Mutinta, better known as Backxwash, began releasing original music on Bandcamp, she has grown and evolved as an artist and human. 

Born in Zambia to deeply Christian parents of the Chewa and Tumbuka tribes, Mutinta always struggled with the conservative and guilt-inducing values taught by her family and church, as she told Louder Sound in 2021:

“You’re not given the luxury to question all of these structures,” she said. “There’s one Bible verse that terrified me: ‘Our Lord is a jealous Lord.’ That freaked the fuck out of me. I was just like, ‘Jesus, I’m afraid to even think right now because I don’t wanna get struck down.’”

However, music, particularly heavy metal, would help pierce the veil of her religious upbringing, which would eventually lead her to leave Zambia for British Columbia, Canada at age 17, and embrace the fact that she is a trans woman, something she always knew deep down:

“Growing up in such a Christian household, listening to that is very taboo. But there’s a certain power to sneaking out and listening to it, because it’s like, ‘Hmm, why don’t you want me to hear this?’ Listening to it has you questioning a lot of stuff that you were told; there’s freedom to that,” she said.

Now based in Montreal, Mutinta achieved remarkable success in Canada as a fully independent rapper and producer. Their 2020 debut LP God Has Nothing To Do With This Leave Him Out Of It earned her the Polaris Music Prize on her first nomination, allowing her to expand her ambitions. God Has Nothing To Do With This became the first album in a trilogy, followed in 2021 by I Lie Here Buried With My Rings And My Dresses, and in 2022 by His Happiness Shall Come First Even Though We Are Suffering.

Each of these albums combined metal, industrial music, hip hop, and elements of her African culture into deeply intense and cathartic sound paintings, exorcising the demons in her psyche left behind by her traumatic upbringing. In an interview with Also Cool Mag, Mutinta explained that the emotionally charged nature of her music led her to a work style that emphasized creating while the feelings still flowed:

“With my [trilogy], I really tried to capture how I was feeling in the moment. I would write a verse in the morning, and shortly begin producing a beat that afternoon, so as not to detach myself and maintain my emotional energy,” she said.

In the past three years, however, Mutinta examined her approach to creation and decided to do something different. Inspired by artists like Tyler, the Creator, Bjork, and even Jessica Simpson, she specifically centered concept and composition to create her brand new fourth album, Only Dust Remains. That focus has paid major dividends, as this is by far her most lusciously layered, beautiful, and lyrically complex work to date, continuing to wrestle with both her internal turmoil, as well as the present, chaotic state of the world writ large.

“Black Lazarus” sets the tone for Only Dust Remains and, right away, the mood is different from her earlier work. No blasting, distorted bass or heavy metal guitars can be heard. Instead, she creates an eerie atmosphere with wordless vocal chants and hand percussion, with layers of instrumentation slowly added: live drums, piano, flute, even gospel choir.

Backxwash also dives headlong into her deeply personal world of trauma on this track, exploring themes of disconnection, spirituality, and suicidal ideation, not unexpected for those familiar with her work. What did surprise me, however, is how she’s opened up her lyrics beyond just how she has been impacted by society’s cruelty, addressing specific societal crises and wondering how we even begin to alleviate that pain:

Why the fuck am I complaining here

When there's kids in Gaza with a missing father

The bongos in Congo don't hit as hard

South Sudan needs a plan, man don't get me started

And for everything fucked that we pick apart

I just fall to my knees with the disregard.

The following “Wake Up” is one of Backxwash’s longest songs, as well as the loudest and most abrasive moments on the album, using a full rock band to paint a violently impressionistic portrait of the depths of Backxwash’s inner turmoil. If one needed a single song summing up the ethos of Backxwash, this would be it, combining religious imagery, brutal violence, and deep self-reflection into an aggressive package that commands you to “wake the fuck up.”

After that, “Undesirable” creates another fascinating soundscape through a vaguely Eastern-sounding plucked string melody, off-kilter hand drums, and dour pianos. Over top, Backxwash gets fascinatingly meta, expressing gratitude for her success and platform, but still wrestling with the effects her words might have on loved ones back home:

Now it's ironic, but I'll hit you with a sobering thought

I wonder if you ever think about the homies you lost

'Cause every bar is just a symptom of how phony you are

Mama's in the kitchen listening to you bawling along

'Cause her baby's written vicious things in all of her songs

Then you try to do the victim thing throwing us off

Don't use me as ammunition, n***a

Grow the fuck up

Grow the fuck up.

A brief instrumental interlude brings us to “9th Heaven,” yet another masterful production job by Backxwash. Tense piano chords and dramatic choral vocals slowly build in intensity over the course of the song, as she repeatedly chants “the drummer coming, the drummer coming.” And when the drummer arrives on the outro, it almost feels ecstatic, appropriate background for her impassioned shouts of freedom.

And we get everything I’ve mentioned in just the first four songs, testament to how meticulously Backxwash has crafted this album.

My only complaint about Only Dust Remains comes with the fact that Backxwash eschews choruses frequently. There aren’t many repeated moments that allow our mind to reset from the onslaught of disturbing and emotionally fraught bars that she delivers over 40 minutes, which leave me feeling like I need a break midway through.

But that’s a minor nitpick on yet another scintillating album from Backxwash. Watching her growth and progression as an artist has been thrilling, and Only Dust Remains stands tall as a testament to her incredible story and passion for what she does. In these insanely fraught times, particularly for the trans community, artists like Backxwash inspire queer people like me to be bolder than ever before. We truly can rise above anything through the power of art.

Production: 9/10

Lyrics: 9/10

Songwriting: 7/10

Overall: 8.5/10

Favorites: Black Lazarus, Wake Up, Undesirable, 9th Heaven

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Thank you for reading! What did you think of this album? Feel free to leave a comment with your thoughts and recommendations.