Soul Reviews
10 Soul records in the Certified Archive. Every one of them earned five rainbow thumbs-up, because we only publish reviews of records we think are great — so treat this page as a listening list rather than a ranking. Newest first.
megiapa's 'Intentions' Is a Warm, Patient Masterwork of Beat-Scene Neo-Soul
The Ohio-born, LA-based producer, vocalist and linguist delivers her full-length debut on International Anthem: fourteen tracks of jazz-informed beat music built between Chicago and Los Angeles. Bandcamp Daily made it Album of the Day and called it a testament to her skill as beatmaker and sonic collagist.
Pokey LaFarge's 'Rent Money' Is a Warm, Hard-Working Masterpiece of '60s Soul
Eleven songs, the first full-length on LaFarge's own Boxer Boy Records, produced by Elliot Bergman at a woodsy Chicagoland studio. After fifteen years of shuffling every deck in American roots music, he's picked one lane — '60s R&B — and floors it.
Ibibio Sound Machine's 'Chopping Mountain' Is a Joyous Masterpiece of Studio-Jam Discipline
The London collective's sixth album, out on Merge. Saxophonist and co-founder Max Grunhard produces for the first time since 2019's Doko Mien, the band cut it at their own Vanguard Studios, and every track started life as a jam.
Beacon's 'How drie a Cinder' Turns Heartbreak Into Quiet Storm Perfection
Beacon self-released what critics are already calling a career best, and it's easy to hear why. This is a breakup album that says almost nothing directly and communicates everything anyway, through space, restraint, and rhythm that never raises its voice.
Nick Hakim's 'I Can See' Turns Grief Into Spectral R&B Bliss
Co-produced with Andrew Sarlo and tracked at Sonic Ranch, NYC studios, and home setups, Hakim's new album processes the end of a record deal and a long-term relationship into something Far Out called 'quiet but mighty.' Moses Sumney and June McDoom guest on 'The Reason.'
Baby Rose's 'YEARNALISM' is a Gloriously Cinematic Masterpiece of Neo-Soul
That rich contralto, wrapped in Hammond organ and gospel harmony. Baby Rose wears her heart on her sleeve for twelve tracks and dares you to look away. A bubble of optimism and emotional complexity.
Kelela's 'new avatar' is a Jagged, Tender Triumph of Distorted Alt-R&B
Kelela drags her liquid-mercury voice through fuzz, grit, and industrial distortion — and finds tenderness on the other side. Too jagged for R&B, too fluid for rock. Utterly her own.
Tasha's 'You Are Spring!' Is Choral Pop as an Act of Generosity
Expert choral writing, lush instrumentation, and a compositional command that never crowds out spontaneity. The exclamation point in the title is earned.
Nirosta Steel's 'MY SKYSCRAPER' Is Forty Years of Disco, Poured Like Velvet
Velvety disco assembled from four decades of recordings — works forever-in-progress, reworked until time stops mattering. It shouldn't cohere. It glides.
GENA Serve a Feast of Black Musical History on The Pleasure Is Yours
Karriem Riggins and Liv.e commanding Afro-funk, gospel, and neo-soul like they invented the syllabus. Pocket perfection meets addictive footwork fusion. The pleasure is absolutely ours.