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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

ANGELCONCEPCION is emboldeningly iconic in her RnB Soul instant classic, Like I Was

Posted on 9 March 2023

Here to take to the sting out of retrospective romantic regret is the emboldening RnB icon, ANGELCONCEPCION, with her latest single, Like I Was.

The lyrics may not explicitly verse that deceit and someone degrading you to drag you down to their lowly levels happens to the best of us, but given the elegance and grace of every inch of this elevated instant classic, it’s heavily implied through ANGELCONCEPCION’s heavenly vocal beguile.

Fusing a modernist tonal palette while pulling at the roots of RnB and soul allowed the Philadelphia-residing Filipino artist to reach the crux of the contemporary curve before transcending it through her effortlessly flawless energy. The bluesy guitars shimmering behind the lush reverb is a lesson in aural intoxication. Grab a glass and get your fill.

Like I Was dropped on March 1st; hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Unravel to D’Arc’s Family Jams’ psychedelically sweet vintage soul in ‘Unwind’.

Posted on 9 March 2023

After hearing the debut album, if someone told me D’Arc’s Family Jams is the new sonic moniker of Duncan Trussell, I wouldn’t hesitate to believe them. The eccentric synth lines that are drenched in retro Americana soul are sweeter than honey, but there’s no sugaring away the artistic merit of this spacey psychedelic country-rock-rooted LP, which will undoubtedly see the South Jersey-residing brothers go far.

Anticipate Beatles-ESQUE dual harmonies by the smorgasbord with aperitifs of funk-riding bass, kaleidoscopic guitar melodies and lashing of vintage tones in the standout single, Unwind. If you’re sick of hearing egos take the lead, and you’re desperate for a soul-lightening sonic experience, slip into the delectable ease of this devilishly promising debut. If anyone has what it takes to knock Jack White off his perpetual pedestal, it is D’Arc’s Family Jams.

The debut album from D’Arc’s Family Jams will officially release on March 9th. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Ninali reached the pinnacle of ‘Smooth’ in her latest feat of jazzy soul pop nostalgia

Posted on 17 February 2023
Ninali

There was no forgetting Ninali after hearing her affectionately wanderlust track, Tokyo, which hit the airwaves at the end of 2022. To start 2023 with a sultry bang, she’s amalgamated a sentimentally demure cocktail of pop, jazz and RnB.

The mid-tempo piece, Smooth, was co-produced by the legendary producer M. Shanks, who also applied their deft touch to the tantalising timbres in Tokyo, which marked the first release for Ninali in over a decade.

With Smooth, sensuously 80s-nostalgia-soaked instrumentals swell and tropically groove around the aphoristically harmonised vocal lines, which simultaneously put you in the mood while facilitating the purer purpose of reminding you how sweet it is to meet someone that defines serendipity. It is worth falling in love just to fully appreciate this delicious track.

Smooth will officially release on February 17th. Hear it on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Anesia Renee is riding on an opulent high in her debut RnB single, New Money

Posted on 28 December 2022

African American RnB singer-songwriter, Anesia Renee, is fresh from the release of her debut single, New Money. The rich in neo-soul glamour single exhibits evocatively jazzy melodies, sharp beats, and a vocal timbre powerful enough to heal hearts torn asunder.

The elevated sophistication, the humble confidence in her presence and the tranquillity spilling from the mellow accordance orchestrate a sublime listening experience that will leave you feeling on an equally as opulent high.

Since entering the music industry, Anesia Renee has opened for the RnB icon Avant, provided backing vocals for many major artists, including Tye Tribbett and DeWayne Woods, featured in Voyage Dallas Magazine and keeps her gig diary constantly booked. After the launch of her debut single, Anesia Renee is preparing her debut album, which promises more euphonious soulful vibes.

Delve into New Money on YouTube.

Follow Anesia Renee on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Ozzie Aguilera channelled their natural sultry beguile into the dream pop fantasy of a resilience-advocating single, You Can’t Give Up

Posted on 18 December 2022

The autonomy advocator Ozzie Aguilera is a sonic vision in their latest jazzy RnB dream-pop single, You Can’t Give Up. The single testifies to the strength that everyone who goes against the heteronormative mould has to muster to stand a chance in a world that claims to celebrate individuality before beating down anyone that shines a little brighter than the rest.

The powerfully demure single extends the ‘haters gonna hate’ conversation to serve as a reminder that there will always be times when you feel like giving in, but relenting to that entropy will never be your only option.

The Mexican American singer-songwriter, makeup artist and entrepreneur may claim to strive for emotional expression over perfection; in my view, they’re a faultless pioneer who always leaves us arrested by their ethereal grace and natural sultry beguile.

You Can’t Give Up was officially released on December 9th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Uriel J. Winfree III brought in the future of RnB with the cinematically sensuous ‘Stranger of Mine’

Posted on 4 December 2022

Uriel J. Winfree III’s latest genre-fluid single, Stranger of Mine, will school you in sensuality. The Brooklyn-based artist takes influence from Chino (Deftones), Black Dante, Sam Cook and Hendrix for his hypnotically seductive amalgams of R&B, Indie, Rap, Hip Hop and Soul.

Stranger of Mine starts with a futuristic hyper-pop prelude before the smooth demure energy starts to flood the intricately layered electronica instrumentals, which push RnB beyond the contemporary curve. He single-handedly created a new trajectory in the evolution of the genre while keeping the impassioned soul and romanticism that the genre’s roots will always be implanted.

The tattooist, actor, filmmaker, singer-songwriter and performer seems to have cinematic multi-faceted talent from every pore. The best part? None of his elevated and artful creations feels too stylised to resonate as inaccessible.

Stranger of Mine is now available to stream on all major platforms via this link.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Raelle transformed grief into grace in her orchestral RnB Jazz Fusion, Cruel Nostalgia

Posted on 2 December 2022

Following her phenomenally successful single Grace, the London-based breakthrough artist and producer Raelle is here with a gleaming fusion of jazz and orchestral RnB, Cruel Nostalgia.

After losing a close friend to suicide at the start of the year, Raelle was locked in a spiral of grief, where nostalgia was the only comfort and reprieve. Anyone who has ever suffered loss will know how impossible it is to envision anything but the wrenching depression that alienates you from everyone else that carries on in their on-kilter world.

Without the context, Cruel Nostalgia is a stunning score of soul, complete with cinematic flourishes which embrace the fleeting beauty of the bitter world through the live orchestral arrangements and acid-style percussion. In context, it radiates even more beguile by resonating as a sonic redemption story and definitive proof that even if you have to look to the innocence of youth to feel joy, it is still there for the taking.

Cruel Nostalgia will be available to stream from December 2nd. Check out the sensuous single via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gothenburg singer-songwriter The Moniker painted a future we all want to embrace in his celestially soulful single, Someday

Posted on 2 December 2022
https://soundcloud.com/the-moniker/someday/s-ZRC2WdxLgEa?si=6ec15790cef14465bc77dab09efd5b97&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

Gothenburg, Sweden singer-songwriter, The Moniker, used his optimism to look to a brighter future, where pure souls such as the one pertaining to his single, Someday, can experience more than just ephemeral bliss from fleeting connections.

He’s been elevating the Scandinavian music scene for the past decade since the launch of his debut album, Oh My God! It is more than about time that he started illuminating the airwaves in the UK with his secular gospel soundscapes and vocal range that rings with celestial beguile. If Purple Rain by Prince has the capacity to drive you to the brink of tears, Someday, with its resonant longing for meaning, will tip you right over the emotional brink.

The reverb-swathed production oozes class as it sweeps through the cinematic crescendos, leaving you more immersed in the shimmering orchestration with every progression.

Someday will officially release on December 2nd. You can hear it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

It’s all in the soul of Laura Vida’s timeless seminal single, Thank You for Sayin’ Goodbye

Posted on 19 November 2022

In anticipation of her in-production upcoming music, we delved into the redemption-soaked RnB album, Healin’ Love, from the Southern California-born singer-songwriter Laura Vida, who has spent the past thirty years working with some of Nashville’s finest.

After recording with Giant Records and being produced by James Stroud, Laura Vida turned her talents away from country to RnB to give us one of the most impassioned RnB records of the last few decades.

The standout single, Thank You for Sayin’ Goodbye, is definitive proof that even on the darkest days, there’s always a silver lining – if you are prepared to look for it. The smooth rhythm and blues release soulfully testifies to the strength that can be found in the wake of the most bitter goodbyes which follow infidelity. It’s a timelessly powerful playlist staple for everyone who wants the reminder that with enough faith, in anything, you can always brighten the next corner you turn. We can’t wait to hear what follows.

Stream Thank You for Sayin’ Goodbye on Apple Music and YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Lia J sips bitter memories in her ground-breaking indie-RnB-pop single, Chardonnay

Posted on 19 November 2022

Indie RnB pop sensation, Lia J, oozed sophistication in the jazz-tinged melodies of her latest single, Chardonnay, which melancholically reflects on how a shift in dynamic can sour the sweetest of memories.

The soft bluesy instrumental layers cushion the blow of the bruisingly honest accounts of her new-found loneliness in the wake of heartbreak. We’ve all been there, bravely attempting to figure out how to find new meaning in our surrounds when all we can feel is the ghost of our former selves.

There’s a beautiful idea that we don’t really miss people; we miss the person we were with that person. Chardonnay reflects that sentiment with overwhelming soul. But even if Lia J was singing her shopping list, the effortless class in her semi-vibrato vocals would awaken your senses with the invigorating stir of her vocal timbre.

Chardonnay is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast