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Best Neo Soul Music Blog

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

Alicia Michilli revived the soul of Detroit Motown in her latest single, Full Moon

Posted on 10 November 2022

With a voice that saw her go far on America’s Got Talent, a timeless lyrical style, and a compelling spin on soul, America should be upholding the Detroit-based Alicia Michilli as a national treasure.

Her latest single, Full Moon, eases you into the smooth, smoky late-night atmosphere where perpetual love lights up the twilight. Her influence of Detroit Motown sounds is easily legible in the consoling timbre of the release that serenades you from the first vocal note. For non-believers in true love, you only need to tap into the demure soul of this caressively sincere release, which celebrates the unconditional love we all yearn for.

So far in her career, Alicia Michilli has opened for Andra Day, Nelly and her long-time hero, Keb’ Mo’, and provided background vocals for Taj Mahal and Keb’ Mo’ during their TaiMo tour. Although, based on Full Moon, she always deserves to be on front and centre stage.

Full Moon is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Jermare Harrison spills all in his synthy 80s RnB pop single, Secret to Tell

Posted on 9 November 2022

American singer-songwriter Jermare Harrison doused us in 80s soul with his divinely synthy seminal single, Secret to Tell, which flows in the same lush vein as icons Soul II Soul and Alexander O’Neal, with plenty of room for authenticity to spare.

The beckoning lyrics through his smooth RnB pop harmonies invite the listener into the intimacy of his candour while the mellow percussion and soft synth layers orchestrate a dreamy sense of catharsis. It’s a timeless classic single from the artist who made his debut in 2015 after immersing himself in the performing arts world at the age of five. We can’t wait to hear what’s next from the impassionedly talented artist.

Secret to Tell is available to stream via Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Gaby K embodies the nectar of the honeymoon phase in her latest RnB pop single, Everyday

Posted on 31 October 2022

With quirky vocals reminiscent of Kate Nash which simultaneously embrace the roots of RnB, Gaby K’s latest loved-up hit that embodies the nectar of the honeymoon phase is an all too efficacious reminder of how sweet it can be.

Refusing to bow to the trend of hypersexual lyricism, Gaby K versed in the same vein as her icons, Amber Mark, Joy Crookes and Emeli Sande and encompassed the sweet motifs of new-found love in Everyday.

For most, the feelings that transpire when you’re in the idealisation stage of a relationship are unexplainable, but with the help of the playful reverb-wrapped Afropop-Eqsue melodies, Gaby K got to the crux of the intangibility of the energy and emotion.

The Birmingham-born and raised artist who made her debut in 2019 is well on her way to racking up 1 million streams with her singles that always come straight from the soul. Something tells us that the best is yet to come.

Everyday is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Leah Jean delivered an indie-jazz meditation in vulnerability and cathartic melody with her single, Stalker

Posted on 28 October 2022

Nashville-residing Indie-folk experimentalist, Leah Jean, laid down lo-fi jazz-infused blues in her latest dreamy trip-hop-y single, Stalker, taken from her upcoming debut album, Creatures in the Room.

Muses find us in the strangest places, but Leah Jean’s crept up behind her in this vocally soulful feat of indie Avant Garde, which uses playful subversion to turn her stalker into an almost affable entity that plays into her melancholy-tainted world in intimately fine detail.

With a lyrical narrative that sucks you in as much as the wavy saturated in delay instrumentals that swoonsomely envelop you in their kaleidoscopic colour, Stalker is a meditation in vulnerability and cathartic melody.

Stalker will officially release on October 28th. Hear it on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

R-Scar sent ripples of soul through the UK gospel scene with ‘Centre’

Posted on 21 October 2022

South London-born and raised Christian artist, engineer and producer R-Scar has been sending ripples of pure soul through the UK gospel scene with his luxe productions since his 2018 debut.

With his most popular singles racking up over 400,000 streams on Spotify alone, R-Scar isn’t solely making a name for himself; he’s also reworking South London’s negative reputation by being a refreshing source of euphonous light with his music. Take his single, Centre, as the perfect example of his ability to build a tranquilly hypnotic escape from negativity. As the ultimate testament that romance isn’t dead, the lyrics fed through his harmonically rich vocal timbre are enough to give you butterflies against the organically warm beats and electronic synthetics.

Centre is available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Charlie O’Brien walks us through dreamy jazz pop nostalgia on ‘Ingrim Street’

Posted on 20 October 2022

Taken from his forthcoming fifth album, Fire and Foam, Charlie O’Brien’s mellow pop folk serenade, Ingrim Street, is a jazzy amble through sepia-tinged memories that allow you to revisit your own sentimental destinations of nostalgia.

His fifth album is Charlie O’Brien’s first departure from his trad Irish roots. The melodious ease of the dreamy soundscape has no obvious connotations of experimentalism through its delicious entrenchment in unbridled soul, noted through the lofty 50s pop vocals and the brass section, which came as a courtesy from the Mexico-hailing artists Luis Zautla and Alejandro Cristobal.

In a time of such rampant disillusion, records such as these are worth their weight in gold. We can’t wait to see where this album takes O’Brien and his achingly beautiful talent.

Ingrim Street will be available to stream from October 20th, along with the rest of his album, Fire and Foam. Catch it on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

 

Hipe the Nomad is Fighting for Love in his Clannad-Esque feat of Alt-RnB

Posted on 18 October 2022

With Clannad-Esque non-lexical vocal lines that are smooth and haunting enough to give you chills, Hipe the Nomad’s latest alternative single, Fighting for Love, does exactly what it says on the tin.

If the Cocteau Twins ventured into RnB, the end result wouldn’t be all too dissimilar from the ethereal soul in Fighting for Love, which was inspired in part by the Weeknd’s Trilogy and Sampha’s Sbtrkt era. Reminiscences aside, it is evident that the British / Saint Lucian artist is a pioneer of his own making. He’s as much of a nomad in the aural world as he is in the physical world; both lend themselves to his smooth, ambient RnB edge.

The official music video for Fighting for Love is available to stream on YouTube.

Review by Amelia Vandergast