New album: With a voice as rich, smooth, deep and pure as anyone around, sublime, tender, passionate, perfectly paced soul, funk R&B in this second LP by Washington D.C.-born Atlanta-based Jasmine Rose Wilson
Read moreJessie Ware: That! Feels Good!
New album: Classy and indeed classic disco, pop, soul and funk by the London-born soaring-voiced singer, who with this fifth album of 10 glitterball bangers is really at the very top of her game
Read moreDave Okumu & The 7 Generations: I Came From Love
New album: A rich, complex and brilliant release about black history, identity, and channelling the idea of ancestry by British singer, songwriter, producer and guitarist joined by a stellar cast of fellow artists, including Wesley Joseph, Tom Skinner, ESKA and Grace Jones
Read moreMo'Ju: Oro, Plata, Mata
New album: Passionate, theatrical soul with a serious concept by the Filipino Wiradjuri artist Mojo Ruiz de Luzuriaga with an LP named after a 1982 film by his late uncle, the director Peque Gallaga, translated as Gold, Silver, Death
Read moreYves Tumor: Praise A Lord Who Chews But Which Does Not Consume: (Or Simply, Hot Between Worlds)
New album: A mouthful of a title but another striking, genre-spanning fifth LP by the unique Knoxville-raised Sean Bowie, whose extraordinary non-gender presence adorns this mix of thrumming postpunk, indie R&B, trip-hop, funk, glam, sensual soul and psychedelia
Read moreYazmin Lacey: Voice Notes
Debut album: A magically smooth, beautiful fusion of jazz, soul, funk and reggae in this debut by the superb London-born, Nottingham-based singer, whose fluid, dreamy voice captures the emotions in the intonations and nuances in her eloquent delivery
Read moreGorillaz: Cracker Island
New album: The eighth studio album by the cartoon personas of Damon Albarn is one of the shortest and most musically coherent, catchy, clever and poignant, with guests including Thundercat, De La Soul, Stevie Nicks, Beck and Tame Impala
Read moreHifi Sean and David McAlmont: Happy Ending
New album: Crisp, soulful, lush, soaring pop, with a Bollywood flavour, as one of the finest ever British vocalists releases a first collaborative full LP with producer and musician Sean Dickson
Read moreThe Go! Team: Get Up Sequences Part Two
New album: Ian Parton’s Brighton band return, in their follow-up to 2021’s Part One, with a truly joyous, upbeat and vibrantly colourful, wham-bam wonder tour of worldwide cultural vocals and samples ranging from Benin to Japan, France, India, Texas and Detroit
Read moreYoung Fathers: Heavy Heavy
New album: There’s nothing quite like them. Joyous energy and endless invention, the Edinburgh trio’s fourth LP is filled with soulful, emotional vocals, fabulous oddball, dynamic beats and sound textures, and already an album of the year contender
Read moreThe Arcs: Electrophonic Chronic
New album: Classy rockin’ psychedelic soul from the Black Keys man Dan Auerbach’s side project, returning with a stellar supergroup of musicians including co-founder Leon Michels and members of the Dap-Kings, as well as a moving tribute LP to the Arcs’ late singer Richard Swift
Read moreLittle Simz: No Thank You
New album: Released without fanfare like those of the collective Sault’s recent five (with producer also Inflo involved here), a fierce, sharp, set songs, particularly about mental health issues, race and music industry evils by the brilliant London rapper
Read moreStormzy: This Is What I Mean
New album: Smooth, mellow, self-healing, candid, with many nods to his faith, the third album by the south London rapper is far from his edgier grime origins, and particularly mixes soul, R&B and spoken word alongside gospel choir and keyboards
Read moreDJ Yoda: Prom Nite
New album: A clever, inventive fusion of modern and retro , London DJ and producer Duncan Beiny’s new project captures heartbreak 50s American doo-wop song samples with live performers through soul, hip hop, harp, strings, and guest vocals from House Gospel Choir, Lily James, Homeboy Sandman, Jamie Cullum and Beardyman
Read moreSault: Aiir, Earth, Today & Tomorrow, Untitled (God), 11
New albums: An unprecedented five albums landing simultaneously without warning, and with a temporary free download period on the mysterious London collective’s website, producer Inflo (Dean Josiah Cover) and co have again brought untold riches in soul, funk, gospel, jazz, RnB, hip-hop, experimental and contemporary classical
Read moreBenjamin Clementine: And I Have Been
New album: Sublime third album by the British singer-songwriter, actor and 2015 Mercury winner, whose powerful, expressive, soul and gospel voice brims with elegance and stark emotion in stripped back, tender songs that capture many forms of pain, but also defiantly soar
Read moreNick Hakim - COMETA
New album: Another sublime, soft, tender soul-funk-jazz fusion by the New York musician who has an unparalleled ability to create new, gentle musical textures decorated with his dreamy falsetto vocals
Read moreTSHA: Capricorn Sun
Debut album: After a series of strong singles and her EP, Dawn, a cleverly crafted, and at times elegant dance music debut by the Tottenham-based DJ and producer Teisha Matthews, fusing 80s and 90s era styles with soul, steel band, orchestral and much more
Read moreGabriels: Angels and Queens - Part 1
New album: Since their breakthrough Love and Hate In A Different Time EP in 2020, the trio of Ari Balouzian, Ryan Hope and most especially the voice of Jacob Lusk continue to soar, now with this new, short debut LP of transcendent, timeless soul and gospel
Read moreSudan Archives: Natural Brown Prom Queen
New album: The scintillating second album by Ohio’s LA-based multi-instrumentalist and singer Brittney Parks showcases her innovation across hip hop, R&B, electronica, jazz and beyond with looping ingenuity, improvisation, and sharp feminist, dark lyrics about life as a black woman
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