Sault - What's the story?

Rose in the Dark was my favourite and it still is, so far. This is too long, for a start. I'm still very keen on it.

semi-related: what's a good jumping in point for kiwanuka's catalogue?

the last two are the ones co-produced by inflo and both are great

I should investigate his stuff too, which I probably wrote off as Mercury-prize bland fodder without ever actually listening to it.

Build Me Up is incredible.

Am I the only one who can't square Cleo's solo songs with the fact that she's the lead on most Sault tracks? Cleo solo sounds very little like she does on the Sault records. Maybe she does and I have a blind ear on this.

her voice is typically more obscured in sault - usually processed a little, lower in the mix, and often multi-tracked or with additional backing vocalists

hearing a lot of D'Angelo on this too, just as I did with some Sault tracks, most especially on B.A.B.E. from 5. Not really getting the Mama's Gun ref, tbh.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GtplyjQ7ytU

Xpost, cheers ufo.

Cleo's clearly a massive stoner though lol.

Just call your next record 420, Cleo.

reminds me a lot of sade at their most restrained

excited to hear 'mother', Cleo sol is the queen of soothe, was getting tired of recommending her roses in the dark album to peeps

this one's quite a significant step up, as good as rose in the dark was

"the last two are the ones co-produced by inflo and both are great"

Kiwanuka (the last one) is an album I haven't stopped playing since I first heard it (late, about six months ago). I think it's just tremendous, one of the best albums of the past several years.

I'm diverging from the hive mind here, wasn't really feeling this on first listen. Glad people are into it though, and that their prolific streak is still going.

same? this isn't doing anything for me after two spins, gonna try once more. Feels weirdly new agey and asmr influenced.

My first impression was that it is a bit too mellow, but I need to give it more time.

Personally, not liking it better than Rose in the Dark. Feels to me like it could lose a couple of songs to be tighter, not that I don’t like any song in particular, as they all sound great, but it feels a bit homogenic in some runs. It’s also a bit frontloaded imho as two of the standouts are the opening songs.

I’d probably lose “heart full of love” and “know that you are loved”

Funny, I had the same Erykah Badu feeing the first time I listened to it. Just played it again - on better speakers and with more focused attention - and that similarity feels a lot harder to track.

Anyway, I don’t love this record but I think that says more about my own taste than I does about Cleo’s ambition. I just don’t generally go for the jazzier side of this genre.

Funny, I think this is maybe too long overall BUT the best songs are the ones that stretch for 7-8 minutes, “Build Me Up” especially. Would love a record from her that is maybe just 8 tracks but still an hour long.

Gonna stick my neck out and say it's pretty good. Reminds me a bit of the last Jessie Ware album in that the production is very reverential in parts (here it's Curtis/Marvin/Rotary/Roy Ayers rather than 70s/80s disco) but still its own thing. Plan is to listen on repeat for a week and then see where we're at.

Good plan, sean :)

it's mellow but never boring, it's so beautiful & constantly surprising with interesting turns. i wouldn't cut anything either, the length feels generous rather than bloated.

So, a couple of listens in, I feel it's an album that will grow on me. My first impressions are that the emotional, self help lyrical content is a little underwhelming compared to 'roses in the dark' and feels a bit like treading old ground. The production lacks an edge of funk too that I feel the other album had, the retro organic instrument palette can be samey, as nice as it is. It think she has rejected more mainstream r'n'b production styles for a long while ago (you get the sense that she's got burnt trying to navigate the industry), but I'd kinda like her to try some more up tempo stuff again ( I first came across her with this poppy dance r'n'b track and would like to see her add some faster funkier favours to another release.

Cleo sol - never the right time
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E5Tef1QdVgo

boy am i glad that she linked up with inflo. that was embarrassing.

DaVinChe sounding like a duplo Richcraft there

here's another Davinche/Cleo attempt at mersh R&B that goes a little harder

she looks so uncomfortable.

I agree it's a terrible video and look for her and one she didn't obviously pursue, but the song is also catchy and I would like to see her do more varied tracks than endless soul self help ' yes, Cleo, we need to love ourselves'

Yeah, really digging this album. Too soon to know if I like it more than Rose in the Dark, but for sure a strong follow-up.

reminds me of mid '70s Roberta Flack in its quietness and occasional lethargy.

i don't mind the lyrics at all, they're not the most interesting but she can get away with them with how beautiful the music is

"We Need You" turning out to be my favorite thing here.

mine too

Also "Spirit"

Listened to the new Cleo Sol a couple of times through late last night and it's beautiful. Kinda boring to say so but the production is stellar.

I just looked at buying the vinyl. £40 with postage. Come on, ffs.

Sorry, £45 with postage - and I'm in the UK.

Broken tape in here but Inflo produced the new Little Simz album and yes, the production is amazing.

"Don't Let It Go to Your Head" giving me Timbaland vibes tonight.

"9" and "Light's In Your Hands" are beautiful

Was listening to “Monsters” and realized it was reminding me equally of Gainsbourg’s Melody Nelson and Ravyn Lenae’s “Sticky”. There’s the thing that a song has to sound familiar already yet still surprise, but what’s remarkable is how they triangulate points between very different memories of listening pleasure.

so I guess the whole "only available for 99 days" thing was a fakeout

xp love that song and those "you"/"you-y-you"s at the end of every line on the verses always remind me of q-tip

xp Nope it's gone?! Not on Spotify or for purchase from the band. Still copies on hhv.de

i think it disappeared literally 2 days after I posted something upthread. Oops, sorry everyone.

It’s a weird gimmick specially when the band are so silent about everything they do. Without a statement on why they decided that it would disappear it just seems confusing and a bit annoying to fans of their music.

I thought it was going to drop from streaming but still be up for sale, didn't realize it would be gone completely

kind of a bummer, I didn't really get to listen to it much

It was a free download so I wouldn't feel too bad downloading it from s0uls33k or whatnot

Oof. Glad I downloaded it when I could, but I was still hoping to buy a physical copy.

They are so mysterious, so who knows, but I keep half expecting them to announce a major signing to a label. Hard to imagine they weren't getting courted hard.

i think it is a strong statement to make and tells the world how they, and they alone are in control of their output, and how it is "consumed". it feels quite empowering to me to be able to put out music for a limited period and then withdraw it at a certain point. why not? after all, it's not like it has totally vanished off the face of the earth. if someone really wants to find it they can still find ways to seek it out.

it's still on one of the internet jukeboxes for now: nine by sault.

despite first reactions, I've found 'mother' a really fantastic album, listened to it many times and respect the deeply personal journey and outlook Cleo offers up to us, I listen to her first album and a lot of the sault stuff, black is, rise,...but 9 hasn't been something I've gone back to as much. To me, the best sault stuff is Cleo n inflo, her solo work with inflo is steller, I am asking myself did 9 deviate too much from that core.