Album: Untitled (Black Is)
Artist: Sault
Release Date: 19 June 2020
Label: Forever Living Originals
Favorite Tracks:
- Stop Dem
- Wildfires
Thoughts:
Sault, a British music collective that eschews media attention on their real identities, put out two albums this year that encapsulate the Black experience in 2020. Released on Juneteenth, and just 25 days after the murder of George Floyd, the music expresses grief, defiance, and hope in equal measures. The music blends soul, R&B, afrobeat, and funk that clearly draws on its antecedents while also being fresh and unique.
Rating: ****
Album: Untitled (Rise)
Artist: Sault
Release Date: 18 September 2020
Label: Forever Living Originals
Favorite Tracks:
- Strong
- Rise
- I Just Want to Dance
- The Beginning and the End
- Free
Thoughts:
Releasing a second album just three months after its predecessor seems a recipe for a watered-down follow-up, but with Sault it is just the opposite. If anything, Untitled (Rise) is brimming with energy and relevance with the music filled with disco melodies and traditional African polyrhythms.
Rating: ****
Panorama of the Mountains 