10 by SAULT feels like a sunbeam hitting a dusty hardwood floor on a quiet Sunday.
10 by SAULT feels like a sunbeam hitting a dusty hardwood floor on a quiet Sunday. It is an album that trades the group's earlier, more jagged revolutionary fervor for a sumptuous and accessible embrace of classic R&B and gospel. The production is defined by a thick, analog warmth that makes every drum hit feel like a heartbeat and every bass line feel like a physical embrace. It is a record that sounds expensive yet intimate, like a private performance in a cathedral that has been converted into a high-end recording studio.
Released in late 2022 as part of a prolific period for the British collective, 10 represents a significant pivot toward overt gospel influences and polished R&B traditionalism. Produced by the enigmatic Inflo, the album features the unmistakable vocal leadership of Cleo Sol, whose performance anchors the record's spiritual themes. Unlike the group's earlier, more rhythmically aggressive works like Untitled (Black Is), 10 prioritizes lush arrangements and sumptuous melodicism that critics from Variety noted as their most accessible work to date. The album's release timing, often coinciding with significant religious holidays, underscores its thematic preoccupation with faith and communal healing. While some critics, such as those at The Line of Best Fit, found the religious messaging less relatable than their previous social critiques, the album's technical execution: characterized by subtle instrumental layers and crescendo structures: remains a high-water mark for contemporary British soul. It stands as a testament to SAULT's ability to evolve from a mysterious protest outfit into a sophisticated vessel for spiritual and musical exploration.
Put this on for
watching the dust motes dance in Sunday morning lightrecovering from a week of spiritual exhaustiona quiet walk through a city park at duskreflecting on personal growth while the house is silentseeking a sense of communal warmth in isolationpreparing for a significant life transition with grace
Moments worth waiting for
The way the vocal harmonies stack into a towering cathedral of sound during the bridge of the opening track.
The subtle entry of a thick, rubbery synth bass line that anchors the mid-tempo groove.
A moment of pure silence followed by a single, resonant piano chord that feels like a deep breath.
Sounds like
2022s production with a 2020s soul
Lyrical territory
spirituality, self_examination, identity
03Deviation
10 · vs · SAULT
Artist
This Album
Analog_warmth
Production · ↓ −5% less than usual
On this album, analog_warmth sits about 5% less prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
