Sault - What's the story?

i'm not the exact opposite of the consensus here, but i don't think i'm hearing this as the slight that most of you are. it's much shorter than the last two, sure, but the material is just as strong as anything else they've done. i think in "light's in your hands" and especially "bitter streets" it would rank as maybe the prettiest material they've done. super solid, but what's new.

after just a couple listens to nine, i'd rank their catalogue so far as:

1. rise
2. black is
3. 7
4. nine
5. 5

5. 5

Absolutely nuts.

Their albums are uneven, and this one's no different.

the title track is completely gorgeous

5. 5

Absolutely nuts.

― Heavy Messages (jed_), Sunday, June 27, 2021 3:09 PM

it should also be said that i wouldn't rate any of their albums thus far lower than four stars. consistency is the name of the game.

'Bitter Streets' is really nice too (those strings!)

If we're doing this

1. 7
2. 5
3. Rise
4. Black Is
5. Nine

#4 and #5 could switch as I get to know the new one a little better

7 and 5 get the most plays and are to me the most consistent

If we're doing this

1. 7
2. 5
3. Rise
4. Black Is
5. Nine

I'd probably go the same--though agree, 'Nine' could switch with 'Black Is'. That said, I love them all. I feel like I don't need every record they do to be as great as '7' or '5,' I'm just happy to see where they go, so glad they're going there.

am i the only one who thinks that (rise) is head and shoulders above their other, still very good albums?

I think at the moment mine is

1. 5
2. Rise
3. 7
4. Black Is
5. Nine

I need to give Nine some more time, I don't hate it, but it seems a bit slight compared to the rest.

1. 5
2. 7
3. Rise
4 TIE: Black Is / Nine

5 was my introduction to them and as evidenced in this thread, they blew my mind pretty early. It’s also the most consistently great imho. 7 and Rise continue the streak of what we could call their “celebratory” albums. Black Is has some great moments - including “Wildfires” which might be their best song yet - but I think both that one and NINE have a more politically aggressive, protest atmosphere which I also love but I see myself listening to the “celebratory” side of them more often.

That said I agree with Austin that I wouldn’t rate any album of them lower than 4 stars.

At least that’s how they register to me in intention. But we have no idea what’s the artist intent. We still don’t know what does the S.A.U.L.T. acronym even stands for. Is NINE also an acronym? What’s the meaning behind the numeration in the albums?

moka, i've also wondered quite a bit about that myself. i find it interesting that all of the number albums thus far have been odds* and the others, despite having parenthetical titles, are officially "untitled." does it have something to do with how/where they were recorded maybe? the two untitled albums definitely have a "bigger", more fleshed-out sound (generally speaking) than the number albums. idk. music jams, whatever the case may be, so i'm happy.

*(initially i thought maybe they were going for prime numbers only, but that's obviously not the case now that NINE exists.)

i don't really have an order of favourites but would probably be very similar to ✖✖✖ (Moka).

so far really love 50% of Nine, the other 50% not so much. may change my mind over time.

I suspected it was a sort of numeration for Inflo’s Forever Living Originals label. Maybe Little Simz, Kid Sister and Cleo Sol’s albums and eps were 01, 02, 03, 04 then Sault 5 is 05, Cleo Sol is 06, Sault 7 is 07, the Untitled Sault counts as a single 08 release and Nine is 09 but it’s a stretch and doesn’t quite square up…

I need to account for the first 4 releases: Little Simz - grey, Kid Sister - long way back, Cleo sol - winter songs EP were all released before 5 iirc and could be 1, 2 and 3 but I’m missing another one. There’s an Inflo single from 2018 that could be the one…

So maybe the meaning behind the numbers is really just a catalogue #

But we would need to count both untitled as a single project and it doesn’t work since they weren’t released as a double album.

Maybe it’s the numeration for recording sessions, if both Untitled were recorded in the same sessions then that’s it. But again this is just a theory.

am i the only one who thinks that (rise) is head and shoulders above their other, still very good albums?

― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, June 28, 2021 11:59 AM (one hour ago)

I agree with this but with caveat that I'm much less of a fan than most others posting here.
Frankly, this new one coming out made me realize I haven't given them much of a thought in 2021

yeah i am a fan of these guys but probably don't have the same rapturous reaction to most of their stuff as many in this thread. maybe there's something to that? is (rise) the least sault-like sault record?

The “you from london” almost ruins the song which is pretty good.

I've listened to this once but my immediate reactions are "this is uniformly good throughout the whole thing" and "lmao at the pearl-clutching over 'You From London'"

Yeah, I don't get what's so annoying about it. Extended spoken part works well set to music!

I also like everything here, incl. "Alcohol" and esp. "Fear," though I often like this band most when they're repeating a lyric to the point of abstraction and/or inescapable truth.

am i the only one who thinks that (rise) is head and shoulders above their other, still very good albums?

― the mai tai quinn (voodoo chili), Monday, June 28, 2021 11:59 AM (one hour ago)

I agree with this but with caveat that I'm much less of a fan than most others posting here.
Frankly, this new one coming out made me realize I haven't given them much of a thought in 2021

― trap door to hell opens underneath (rob)

This is the same for me. Rise is the only album of theirs I've connected with for some reason. I like bits from their others, but as Alfred says, they're very uneven.

even rise is a little uneven with some of the interludes & instrumentals feeling a bit unnecessary but it doesn't really get in the way of itself too much, it's certainly their strongest

lmao at the pearl-clutching over 'You From London'"

― an eco-conscious Music Box (DJP), Monday, June 28, 2021 1:24 PM

are folks really pearl-clutching? like, really???? must have struck a nerve i guess.

i thought it was one of the standouts on the album and seriously dope to hear them do essentially a straight up hiphop track.

It’s one of my favorite tracks in here too. And it’s not even the “you from london?” sample which I found grating it’s the last minute with the full clip, it’s just unnecessary I keep skipping it.

yeah it's fine except for the outro lol

Didn't know what ppl were not liking on that track but now realized it's cause I skipped the outro every time. It's prob the only track in the album I'll feel a need to hear again. Liked parts of other tracks but they all were ruined by one thing or another (truly personal preference. Think the se tracks are good at what they were going for, just not my cup of tea)

Listening to it today again while stuck in traffic I think I ended up liking it even better. I don't think there's a single track in here I dislike except the spoken word bits and interludes - but I tend no to rate them when judging an album.

Curiously noone has mentioned 'Trap Life' yet and it might be one of my favorite ones in here, love that groove.

Ranking them I'd probably say:
Trap Life > Bitter Streets > You from London > 9 > London Gangs > Light's in Your Hands > Fear > Alcohol

Wait actually put Bitter Streets

Ranking them I'd probably say:
Trap Life > You from London > 9 > London Gangs > Bitter Streets > Fear > Light's in Your Hands > Alcohol

ugh copied and pasted all wrong there lol... anyway the second ranking is the correct one.

The fact that one could make an absolutely killer "greatest hits" double LP for Sault after only 2.25 years is pretty impressive to me.

That they're consistently the #1 seller on Bandcamp when they drop a new release despite the fsct that they've put the last three albums up to download ob their wevsite for free; that Pitchfork now has to pretend like they've been covering them all along; all based on zero promotion and sparse critical coverage, essentially from pure word-of-mouth, despite virtually no direct social media and despite their participants being nearly anonymous--it's just down to that people really respond to their music.

I've played them for many friends and acquaintances, including a lot of musiicans and producers, and all have become fans and most proselytes themselves.

A pretty remarkable phenomenon. Add in that Inflo has simultaneously produced two Little Simz albums (one of which was my favorite album of its year until I heard Sault's '7'), Cleo Sol, and Michael Kiwanuka--dude has been involved in a huge share of my favorite music these last years.

"You From London" coda is annoying because it feels like a joke that's already well played out and having to sit through it every time I listen to this (otherwise excellent) album is a frustrating prospect

My partner is a sucker for half-time R'n'B swing, so as soon as Alcohol came on she was sold

The fact that one could make an absolutely killer "greatest hits" double LP for Sault after only 2.25 years is pretty impressive to me.

Actually tried to do this in Spotify but realised that despite having listened to all these albums a few times I'm not 100% familiar with which cut is which. It ended up being about 40% cuts from Rise with stand outs from the others. I really need to listen to 5 a bit more.

I think of the "number" albums as being a bit more post-punky, stripped back, "EP-ish", whereas the Untitled ones are more neo-soul and "Albumy"

“alcohol” is pure d’angelo

idk maybe it’s cause im not from london, but i don’t find the spoken stuff on that song to be that tonally different from “you know it ain’t” from rise. it’s less clever and biting, sure

I wonder how much ones favorites depends on what one heard first? '5' and '7' hit me hard in late 2019, and their relative "smallness," the stripped-down qualities people associate with ESG/post-punk, really hit me perfectly (especially coming off my love for Little Simz). But during the next summer, their bigger, more global sound was perfect for that time--I loved hearing them stretch out and prove they could do "wide-screen" as much as intimate. But my heart remains with that "smaller" sound I first fell in love with...

We shuffled the first four albums during hours of rural driving last September, past endless Trump signs and Trump shrines. It got me through, but it's rendered their catalog a big saulty life raft where I adore even the less-stunning bits just as much obvious masterstrokes, and the then-recent Untitled tracks are blended together. It was a bit of a shock to have new tracks this week, given the turmoil they've pulled me through, nearly like skeptically listening to a comeback record after a decade. Time is so fucked up now. After four or five listens I can't tell if this was more of a grower or I just was so fulfilled by this group I needed to make a little space in my brain for more.

xp I feel the same way. I love Rise and Black Is but I prefer the number albums because they're more focused

Only listened to 9 once but I love it

Love this album as much as all the others. I dont think it’s slight at all - more that Cleo Sol’s presence feels a little more limited. She doesn’t seem to really show up until the second half and one of those is the under-baked “Alcohol”. Agree that and “You From London” are the weakest stretch but I still enjoy both songs. Really love the first half, and it finishes strong with 9 and Light.

“Fear” feels almost like a Beak> track.

though I often like this band most when they're repeating a lyric to the point of abstraction and/or inescapable truth.

― swing out sister: live in new donk city (geoffreyess), Monday, June 28, 2021 4:18 PM (three days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Yeah, they have this quality where I can imagine playing a little riff or coming up with a little sing-song hook and dismissing it as nothing, but they will commit to a small idea with confidence and it's great. Maybe it comes off as under-written to some people, but to me it's a great ability to recognize what could actually be a whole song.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/jul/03/sault-nine-review-london-99-days-balm-

Some of this new one does indeed sound like portishead/beak> producing... The Go! Team?

^^

that's not a bad description of the first few songs especially

I just realised Sault is an anagram of Tulsa

New CLEO SOL album “mother” dropping tomorrow.