Browsing Category

Best Neo Soul Music Blog

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

Lank G brought in a new era of pure soul with his contemporary RnB single, I’LL SEE YOU SOON

Posted on 15 October 2022
Lank G

In his fervid music career, the dynamic up-and-coming artist and producer Lank G has eclectically experimented with RnB, hip hop, and gospel. In his latest single, I’LL SEE YOU SOON, he euphonically converged them all to bring in a new era of pure soul.

At just 20 years old, Lank G is bringing an air of ethereal maturity to his soundscapes, especially on the basis of I’LL SEE YOU SOON, which goes all in on the sincerity to the tune of the ambient lush reverb that cushions his soft percussion and velvety vocal timbre that reaches the pinnacle of smooth. Within the lyrics, Lank G finds the perfect balance between cheeky grit and ride-or-die devotion. It’s a potent mix, one that is sure to leave RnB fans hooked.

I’ll SEE YOU SOON will be available to stream from October 15th. Check it out via SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

N.O.A & The Goodest Ones keep the spirit of multicultural soul alive in ‘Say Things’

Posted on 14 October 2022
N.O.A & The Goodest Ones

N.O.A & The Goodest Ones’ latest single, Say Things, is a melting pot of genre, style, and culture. Through the upliftingly smooth brass section, you will soak in nuances of jazz; through the rhythm section, you will find nods to funk and reggae, and the vocals transfuse some of the sweetest vocally-delivered catharsis you could care to drink in.

With the RnB harmonies gelling with the rap bars from Tray God Tha MC over the mellifluous flow of the melodies, Say Things is a conversation you will want to indulge in time and time again. The spirit of soul is well and truly alive through this timeless record. It is escapism music at its finest.

Say Things will officially release on October 14th. Check it out for yourselves on Spotify and connect with N.O.A & The Goodest Ones on Instagram.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The Art Crimes Band painted in metropolitan soul in their latest jazzy synth-driven single, Neon Skyline

Posted on 10 October 2022

The Art Crimes Band have been lauded as Cork’s most promising new band; their latest single, Neon Skyline, affirms just why so much hype has been amassing around their soul-driven indie synthwave sound. If you can envisage Nina Simone’s vocals fused over The Midnight’s soundscapes, you may get a fair way to imagining what the Art Crimes Band have stirringly amalgamated in Neon Skyline.

To the tune of seductively jazzy sax, shimmering synths and ambient funk dripping rhythms, Neon Skyline metropolitanly unravels around the timeless female vocals that could have been recorded at any time in the last century, but they fit right into the juxtaposing classic temporary timbre of this artfully consuming serenade, which calls out into the cruel cold world to make it infinitely more accommodating and less alienating.

Neon Skyline is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast