Untitled (Rise)

Released

Sault fans who were still in awe from Sault’s Untitled (Black Is) were faced with a part two that was perhaps even better. For this album, Sault added flurries of sweeping strings, welcoming soul keys, Brazilian Batucada rhythms, some disco-flavoured beats here, some Afro-flavoured beats there, and a dance floor sensibility to their future-soul/dub/punk-funk template. Producer Inflo effortlessly put multiple musical influences through the Sault future-retro filter, transforming the base elements into their own new thing, a deep, potent heavy-weight sound. 

Again, the lyrics are unflinching, often delivering tough messages of Black resistance and pride in a world of systemic racism, unflinchingly wrapped in the sweetest of melodies or tied to the most buoyant of grooves. Untitled (Rise) is, to employ an overused piece of music writing hyperbole, a triumph. 

Harold Heath