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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

Annabel Brett makes sure we get the message in her alt-soul pop single, Voicemails

Posted on 23 August 2022

With the vocal poise of a 1950’s bluesy soulstress and the cutting indie folk pop edge of artists such as Mitski and Phoebe Bridgers, Annabel Brett is breath-taking in her dreamy pop single, Voicemails.

The vocal distinction gives few clues to the 23-year-old independent artist’s influences, and it’s a very similar story with the light, minimalist and acoustics. The two-minute tender track eclipses everything lo-fi should be; Voicemails resounds like you’ve just caught a Truman Capote character in an intimate melancholic moment.

Check out Annabel Brett’s latest single, Voicemails on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ozzie Aguilera is fresh from his seductively unapologetic Latin Jazz-Pop single, Nasty Boy

Posted on 15 August 2022

Here to prove there is little more awe-inspiring than someone completely embracing their autonomy is the Mexican American singer-songwriter, MUA and entrepreneur Ozzie Aguilera and his latest Latin Jazz-Pop single, Nasty Boy.

The soulfully unapologetic single delivers the eloquent reminder that everyone you meet will have their own narrative of you, but yours is the only one that is true and that carries any weight. The light year colour-seeped melodies give Nasty Boy an almost dream-like feel, while Ozzie Aguilera wraps his sultry vocal dynamism around the well-metered swoon-some canter of the lyrics.

Nasty Boy was officially released on August 12th. Check it out on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

New-age crooner Giovanni Christian is the epitome of Fly in his latest single.

Posted on 14 August 2022

Here to teach us the definition of fly, and ensure we don’t forget the troubled pathways of our history, is the new-age RnB crooner Giovanni Christian with his 2022 album, Hot Boy (Songs about H.E.R.), featuring the stormer of a lead single, Fly.

After growing up in LA the African-Caribbean descendent had two worlds to inspire his sonic palette. The high-production glamour is served right alongside the deep summer-saturated Afro-Beat grooves that infectiously pull you into the artist’s enigmatic energy. If any artist has what it takes to shift the RnB genre forward, it is Giovanni Christian. Get him on your radar.

Purchase Hot Boy on Apple Music or check out Fly on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Violet Nines brought the heat in their fiery soul-pop jam, Dancing with Fire

Posted on 12 August 2022

Seemingly, no genre was off-limits in The Violet Nines’ latest single, Dancing with Fire, which melds angular indie guitars with fiery soul-pop vocals, disco grooves, jazzy sax stabs and funk-to-the-core basslines.

It is rare to find an outfit that oozes talent and euphoria in equal measure; the rhythm-led Minneapolis-hailing ensemble is a dynamic exception to that rule. The record is rampant with that irreplicable live music feel; we can only imagine the energy when they are bringing their collaborative alchemy to life. It feels purely accidental that their sonic signature is so commercial, but that strips none of the gloss from their enlivening distinction.

The official video for Dancing with Fire will premiere on August 12th. Sample the funk for yourselves by heading over to YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anne Musisi speaks to our loveless world in her seminal single, BE NICE

Posted on 9 August 2022

The fearlessly lyrically confrontational artist Anne Musisi has never been one to mince her words. With her seminal single, BE NICE, she pulverised the notion that women should continue to meekly skate by on their vulnerability and nicety, while the rest of the world treats them with contempt.

Even though I was raised on a steady diet of 90s Riot Grrrl, for the first time in what seems like an eternity, I’ve heard a fresh voice delivering vindicating empowerment. The moody, dark and synth-heavy track sees Musisi seamlessly switching between spoken word dominant bars and hyper-smooth neo-soul vocals that do more than hitting the spot; they caress it.

“Why should I be nice?” a seemingly innocuous question; under Anne Musisi’s fiercely demure duress, which sees her spill frustration for the way she’s been disregarded, infuriated, and mistreated, it’s an emboldening inquiry into the dark world of misogyny and prejudice.

The official music video for BE NICE is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Yasmine Gill rises above the past with her best release yet called Woman

Posted on 6 August 2022

After delighting us with a feathered lather of beauty on Feel, Yasmine Gill heals all wounds like a war doctor sent from above to help us build our world properly again on Woman.

Yasmine Gill is a sensationally gifted London, UK-based Italian-Canadian soul-filled jazz singer-songwriter and inspiration to many.

”What makes a woman? A woman can be resilient and multidimensional, vulnerable and strong, assertive and gentle, confident and humble, and never needing to give one up for the other. They can be either, or both, or none at all, and yet they remain true to their name. I am a woman, I am proud, and I am powerful.” ~ Yasmine Gill

It feels like you are in a transformed world of tranquil peace when Yasmine Gill’s exquisite vocals appear suddenly in your seduced speakers. Easing her sultry angelic energy swiftly as our heart skips, there is so much enriching air to breathe that feels so good. Lips trembling with a knowing smile, this is something rather special.

Woman from London, UK-based Italian-Canadian artist Yasmine Gill is a simply excellent song made with love. With an aura that feels so genuine and kind, with a smooth beat that could illicit a quickening of the heartbeat. This is what authentic class sounds like.

Showing us once again why she is a must-listen when you need some inspiration, Yasmine Gill might have you feeling so romantic again. Do you feel it too?

Hear true grace from a music goddess on Spotify and follow her on IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

LA Jazz Scene Icon Sam Hirsh Created Melodic Chemistry with Amber Navran in His Seminal Single, Hot Slow

Posted on 3 August 2022

Taken from his LP, Quarantine Dreams, Sam Hirsh’s standout single, Hot Slow, featuring Amber Navran, is everything it says on the tin. Rather than cooking up a tried, tested, and uninspired blend of soul, Hirsh delivered jazzy melodies which artfully blossom around the smoky – almost trip-hoppy – whispered vocals.

In the LA jazz scene, the pianist, composer and educator is renowned for the soulful energy in his compositions; they are everything people who bemoan ‘they don’t make them like they used to’ could ask for. Better yet, right from the first hit, Hot Slow is smooth enough to melt into. For the same reasons I fell in love with California by Mr Bungle, I will be giving Hot Slow plenty of repeat attention.

Hot Slow is now available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jimmy G. $hi takes it slow in his RnB single, Drown Tonight

Posted on 30 July 2022

Give your RnB playlists a fresh soul fix by introducing it to the lead single, Drown Tonight, from Jimmy G. $hi’s 2022 album, P.T.H.B.

After warm saturated tones have eased you into the smooth contemporary track that unfurls around hip hop percussion and spacey electronica synthetics, Jimmy G. $hi goes in heavy with the sultry romanticism. The affectionately demure energy resonates through the lyrics as much as the steady vocals that affirm the message of the single; pace is the trick.

With the stellar production, the mellifluous soul that spills from the vocals and the evocative heights that Drown Tonight takes you to, the up-and-coming artist can definitively be seen as a triple threat.

The official music video for Drown Tonight was released on July 22nd. Check it out for yourselves via YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

LUCID LIP soulfully speak on disillusion in their alt-rock single, Who Would Notice?

Posted on 30 July 2022
LUCID LIP

New York’s smoothest and synth-heavy alt-rock outfit, LUCID LIP, has unveiled their latest heartbreakingly smoky single, Who Would Notice? which taps into the same sense of disillusioned isolation that everyone with any degree of self-awareness has battled with lately.

The lyric, “What the hell does anyone want anyway?”, efficaciously captures the frustration of the irrationality of most of the people you encounter. While “I’m not here to sell my soul, but who would notice?” pulls you into the darkened ennui of depression’s grips. Metaphorically, of course.

Far more remarkably, nothing about the single resonates as self-piteous; there’s a comforting sense that the candour was used as a means of solidarity with the listener.

Who Would Notice? left the same evocative imprint as Incubus did on me back in my slightly less jaded teen years, with a touch of Faith No More’s The Real Thing (I don’t make Mike Patton references lightly).

Who Would Notice? will officially release on July 29th. Check it out on all major streaming platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Susy K knows who warrants her love now on the inspirational-filled ‘Heal’

Posted on 9 July 2022

Soothing her precious soul after feeling the mean wrath of previous fake humans who only cared about themselves, Susy K certainly refuses to go down any jagged road just to pleasure her desires on the groovy single to help you see the entire picture on ‘Heal‘.

Susy K is a Scottish indie neo-soul singer-songwriter and vocal coach who sings with a beautifully enlightening style that takes you into a timeless zone that is hugely uplifting.

”It was created to amplifying the importance of finding self-love and self-worth over seeking validation from others–something Susy herself has taken a long time to learn.” ~ Susy K

With a graceful elegance that is absolutely transcendent on our ears that needs so much love, Susy K is quite delightful on this majestic single that is simply exquisite and shows us how it’s possible to grow from previous mistakes and be the person you want to be on the other side.

‘Heal‘ from Scottish indie neo-soul singer-songwriter/vocal coach Susy K is such a genuine song that takes you through the past and into the future with such class. She shows us we need to truly care about ourselves and not let anything take our shine away, no matter what the short-term effects in your love life. Sung with a gloriously stunning ambience that will help so many brush away any destructive energy, this is a must-listen for anyone who needs to hear the truth.

That self-happiness you feel each day is the best feeling you can face each day if you choose to unlock it.

Hear this gorgeous single on Spotify and see more from this lovely artist on her IG.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen