SAULT – NINE

Available online for only 99 days, SAULT’s latest album release NINE is once again compelling and timely. It’s yet another excellent brick in the mythic wall being constructed around the mysterious collective.

Still largely anonymous and wildly prolific (five albums across 2.5 years), this crew yet again delivers a tight 34 minutes that are wide in their canvas of inspirations – R&B, funk, hip-hop, 60’s rock, Afrobeat – but laser-focused in their signature lens of stark and stripped-down production styles and urgent vocals.

I will be disappointed if there is not yet another SAULT album in five months. They have quickly become a life soundtrack staple. Their efforts to avoid identities or much in the way of traditional marketing has worked very well to ensure that a firm focus is kept on the music and its message. There are no videos, band members, or fashion for me to think about: just full albums dropped every six months that are consistently killer and that eerily capture the current state of the world.

SAULT – Untitled (Rise)

For the second time this year, the mysterious SAULT collective have released an album that is consistently incredible, front to back (they pulled off the same double threat in 2019 as well). Post-funk, with a heavy dose of Nile Rodgers + afro beat styles + a fierce political edge. This is music for right now.