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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

Charlotte Ooi delves into the unknown with her intimately sultry RnB single, Never Know

Posted on 10 December 2021

Charlotte Ooi proved how sultry bedroom pop always could be with her debut single, Never Know, which was released on December 3rd. If any artist warrants coining the genre ‘boudoir pop’ for, it is this London-based intimately evocative RnB pop artist.

Breathy vocals can be hit or miss, but Charlotte Ooi’s light vocal timbre is right on the money in her emotionally vulnerable release that delves into the unknown. In her own eloquent words, this is what Never Know lyrically encompasses:

“My new single shines on topics about vulnerability, hope and the essential need to embrace all types of emotions. I’ve personally struggled with a lot of anxiety moving a lot throughout my life and it has also become quite common in our society, so this song seeks an emotional intimacy with the audience.”

Check out Never Know for yourselves by heading over to Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Why Do I Feel: Mumbai’s Second Sight wonder why they are so ‘Helpless’ (feat. RANJ)

Posted on 8 December 2021

With the world swirling around into a wild undercurrent-packed whirlpool that never seems to slow down even for one moment, Second Sight return with a profoundly relevant single all about trying to conquer those demons as the path to overcoming everything holding you back has you feeling so ‘Helpless‘.

Second Sight is a highly-enjoyable Mumbai, India-based indie alt-soul, RnB/folk/jazz fusion act that skillfully combines in a warm blend of crisply-projected music that is so welcome during these challenging times.

Showing us their unbelievably skilful amalgamation of various styles and genres that is a sumptuously delicious listen, Second Sight kindly lather our senses and bring us a marvellous single here that is an ear-soother if there ever was one.

‘Helpless‘ (feat. RANJ) from the wonderfully genuine Mumbai, India-based indie alt-soul, RnB/folk/jazz fusion group Second Sight, is such a sweetly presented track that you just want to play all night long. There is much to enjoy about an outfit that makes such soulful sounds that are real and authentically received – as they make our lives so much better – away from the carnage outside. Life can be up and down like a grumpy elevator sometimes but if you have the mindset to overcome anything then you shall succeed.

Hear this lovely new single on Spotify and see more news via their IG music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen

Montrael became the voice of her heartbroken generation with ‘Project Twenty1’

Posted on 7 December 2021
Montrael

Rochester, New York-based singer-songwriter Montrael released her highly anticipated EP, Project Twenty1, as 2020 drew to a close; if you missed it, you missed a soulful soiree of style, sultry panache and urban poetry.

Montrael made her debut in 2018; since the debut, she has built a loyal fan following around her effortlessly resounding music where emotion always takes the reins and drives the tracks through moody trappy melodies and self-aware introspection. The young artist takes influence from Usher, Beyonce and Selena, while her inspiration lies in her commitment to being a youthful voice for this generation of RnB fans in need of soulfully empowering music.

Project Twenty1 is now available to stream and purchase in full via apple music.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rico Suave shines a light on the beauty in vulnerability with ‘Say It Back’

Posted on 6 December 2021

From the moment you hit play on Rico Suave’s latest single, Say It Back, you instantly understand how he came about his moniker with his passion-driven approach to hip hop.

Say It Back is the lead track from the affectionately titled release, Hope You Love Me After. Each of the eight tracks pulls the listeners’ attention to the beauty in romantic vulnerability, proving that even though it’s terrifying, there’s nothing more beautiful than going all in, despite the blows that may follow.

With nuances of RnB and its downtempo grooves, Say It Back paints a picture of romantic anticipation as it reminds you of your own soul’s capacity to feel. In a world as dystopic and loveless as ours Rico Suave on the airwaves is a godsend.

Hope you Love Me After is now available to stream and purchase via the apple store.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Donnell Isaac inspires passion in our uncertain landscape in Everyone Needs Love featuring Sonny King

Posted on 5 December 2021
https://soundcloud.com/donnellisaac/everyone-needs-love-remix-feat-sonny-king

Soul singer Donnell Isaac’s latest single, Everyone Needs Love, is an RnB wisdom bomb that will even get romantic nihilists into the groove and mood. With the gospel nuances, the US-based artist prays at the altar of passion and invites his listeners to kneel with him.

The remix featuring Sonny King spills sublime indie-funk while it serves the essential reminder that ‘everyone needs love like they need a heartbeat’. The romantically indulgent track does plenty more than point out a life necessity; it proves that love doesn’t come easy, but when it does, it’s matchless.

The remix of Everyone Needs Love is now available to stream on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Poetry flows with the mellow vibes in Innocent Tata’s alt hip hop track, The End.

Posted on 3 December 2021

Alt rap artist, Innocent Tata, dropped his latest album, Kiwi (The Bird), on November 15th; with his poetic flows and ambient indie vibes, this is urban catharsis as you have never known it before.

The standout single, The End, is a mellow window into the artist’s candid soul. After a hazy intro that bleeds reverb, the beats start to rattle beneath his butter-smooth rap bars that work their way around the introspective gold in the lyricism. The End drifts through ethereal increments into crescendos of sheer ambient electro ingenuity; your vibe out playlists couldn’t ask for more.

The End is available to stream and purchase via the apple store with the rest of Innocent Tata’s album, Kiwi (The Bird).

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Samuel Ashton – Breathe Easy: Meet Your New Favourite Soul Serenader.

Posted on 25 November 2021
Samuel Ashton

Samuel Ashton’s latest single, Breathe Easy, is definitive proof that people who say they don’t make music like they used to are as ignorant as they are apathetic in their searches for diamonds in the commercial rough.

Breathe Easy is the ultimate soul-blues serenade between the jazzy, mellifluous ambience in the instrumentals and the timeless vocal panache. Ashton’s vocal notes effervesce with passion while trying to instil tranquillity; his sound is practically ASMR. In our disquiet reality, he really is a breath of fresh air (pun semi-intended).

Breathe Easy is due for official release on November 25th. You can check it out for yourselves on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Zach Butler has made his funked-up blues debut with ‘Selfish’.

Posted on 20 November 2021

Some artists try to portray themselves as icons, and some become iconic through their instant accessibility; Zach Butler safely and funkily falls into the latter camp. His debut single, Selfish, is a soulfully rendered feat of experimentalism that finds its vibrancy by grasping at the roots of blues and ripping them out in grooves that are almost technical enough to resonate as avant-garde.

Even though there’s plenty of distinction to grasp through the lyrics and vocals that carry the charisma of a cult leader, the guitars are on a whole other level. As soon as he starts to play in the progressively choppy despite being smooth single, you get the sense that he carries a deep passion for the technicalities of expression. The up and coming Atlanta-based artist takes influence from the guitar styles of Stevie Ray Vaughan and John Mayer. For songwriting influence, he looks to the likes of Stephen Day and Jordy Searcy.

Selfish is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Annie Christina broke the RnB mould with her trippy dream hop exploration of soul in ‘Take Me Far Away’.

Posted on 18 November 2021
Beautiful Words Came To Form Havoc by Annie Christina

On November 8th, Montreal’s most luminary RnB soulstress, Annie Christina, launched her debut album, Beautiful Words Came to Form Havoc, on Bandcamp ahead of the official December 2021 release.

The lead track, Take Me Far Away, is a quiescently meditative soundscape that resonates like the calm after a storm. The Canadian singer-songwriter, producer and DJ has taken a structurally experimental approach to her music since her debut but it truly shines through in the ambience of Take Me Away, which falls away from the ABABCB structure and grooves through dreamy experimental progressions which tie in nuances of dream pop, trip-hop.

Take Me Far Away is now available to stream and purchase on Bandcamp.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

I Know You Need Lovin’: Acid City Nuns drops mind-bending 58 second single ‘That’s All You Get’

Posted on 14 November 2021
The Habit by Acid City Nuns

Sent from their mind-boggling 19-track album ‘The Habit‘, Acid City Nuns are quite sensational on their quick-fire new single which will have you feeling so soothed and somehow curiously fascinated at the same time called ‘That’s All You Get‘.

Acid City Nuns is a free-thinking indie soul act that makes a phenomenal form of music that is so meaningful and stacked full of creative love.

”We do not conform to classes of society and are not held hostage by group-think. For the ardent proponents of absolutes, we represent disorder and immorality. We are free-thinkers and we are despised for our freedom of thought and independence from tethers of uniformity. We are not motivated by fear, avarice, or closed-minded sedation, and we do not bow to relics of humanity’s ancient bondage.” ~ Acid City Nuns

You feel their thoughtful minds are totally open and ready always to absorb information as they find it from trusted roots, sweeping away all of the absurdity that can bog down many. There is a landslide of application for us to take note of here which is filled within the verses that are so precise, about this rather ungracious world that we all dwell in.

‘That’s All You Get‘ from the open-minded Acid City Nuns, is an engaging single that takes you to a community that has your mind working overtime. There is a lot of simmering heat here that warms you up from the cold outside, which takes you to a new world that is rather impressive. The smooth vocals are such an ear-calming listen and mixed with such a ravishing beat, this is a memorable experience that will guide you to a striking place filled with that calmness we all deserve.

Hear this fine new single on Bandcamp and see more via the FB music page.

Reviewed by Llewelyn Screen