7/10

There’s a special kind of magic that happens when an artist builds a world entirely on their own terms. With 'Passing for Human', OneNamedPeter crafts a ten-track universe stitched together from restless riffs, whispered confessions, and the kind of lyrical curiosity that only comes from living slightly sideways from the crowd. It’s a record that feels handmade, lived-in, and defiantly individual.

Peter has always been a one-person creative engine, but here he feels more dialled-in than ever. These songs cover a startling emotional range. From foot-stomping rock moments to hushed, near-acoustic murmurs, the album dances between extremes without ever losing its centre of gravity. It’s unified by the unmistakable fingerprints of someone who writes, plays, records, produces, films, and designs every inch of their own artistic landscape.

The opener 'Go Down to the River' is the kind of track that sounds like it burst into existence rather than being carefully constructed. Contrast that with 'The Ghost of You', where delicate guitar work cradles a decades-long ache of a heartbreak too familiar to fully name, and too persistent to let go.

The title track 'Passing for Human' might be the album’s quiet triumph. Over a warm, drifting groove, Peter takes a magnifying glass to the strange sensation of feeling out of step with the world and discovers something surprisingly communal. By the end, the song has widened into a meditation on belonging, identity, and the universal truth that everyone is, in their own way, improvising their way through the human condition.

But the closer 'While You Sleep' might be his most powerful moment: a lullaby that feels like a vow, glowing with loyalty and quiet resolve before dissolving into silence.

What makes Passing for Human such a joy is how deeply it reflects its maker, delivering something earnest, inventive, a little weird, and wholly uninterested in fitting neatly into any one boundary. It leans into odd angles, emotional sharp edges, and homemade charm, and becomes stronger because of it.

In the end, OneNamedPeter is inviting us into a world only he could build. And once you’re inside it, you realise that being “new-different-original-heartfelt,” as he puts it, is his superpower.