Untitled (Black Is)

To this writer, it feels like the subject matter of Untitled (Black Is) — police brutality and systemic racism in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder — was dealt with directly in the lyrics but also in the actual music itself, as though the reworking, rejuvenation and celebration of older Black music genres enacted both the anger and pride of the Black Lives Matter movement. 

Sonically, the album is similar to Sault’s previous efforts; it’s soul/R’n’B/funk updated with Afro and dub influences, a Black deep punk-funk album concocted by distilling then melding various musical elements. So for “Sorry Ain’t Enough” a dub bassline, some pure-90s-R’n’B-style vocals and languid funky drums combine, for “Eternal Life” it’s 80s soul synth chords matched with a drum track that could be from a decades-old blues track or a 2000s Timbaland production, while “Monsters” balances psychedelic fuzz organ, a boom bap beat and an almost-nursery-rhyme melody. Stand-out track is “Wildfires,” a song with the starkest of contrast between its sweet/sad chorus melody and the subject matter — police brutality — perhaps summing up the essence of soul music, the transformation of suffering and adversity into something beautiful and powerful.