Twenty tracks of urgent, analog-warm soul. A collective transmission of grief and defiance anchored by bone-dry basslines and haunting choral harmonies.
It’s the most beautiful and urgent protest record you’ll ever hear, driven by basslines that won’t quit.
A powerful balance of righteous anger and spiritual consolation wrapped in warm analog grooves.
Released on Juneteenth 2020, UNTITLED (Black Is) stands as a definitive sonic response to the global uprising against racial injustice. While SAULT remained anonymous, the album's voice was unmistakable, blending the raw aesthetics of 70s funk and post-punk with contemporary neo-soul sensibilities. Produced by Inflo, the record features twenty tracks that function as a continuous suite, punctuated by spoken word interludes and field recordings. It marked a significant expansion of the group's sound from their previous '5' and '7' releases, leaning harder into political themes and spiritual arrangements. Critically, it was hailed as a masterpiece of the era, capturing the 'zeitgeist' through its unique combination of anger, mourning, and affirmation. The album's reliance on analog equipment and 'dry' mixing techniques gives it a timeless quality, sounding simultaneously like a lost relic and a futuristic transmission.
Put this on for
Rain streaking the window while the world feels like it's breakingMidnight headphones on, processing the news in total silenceKitchen floor at 2am, too restless to sleep, too tired to moveGravel crunching under tires on a drive with no destinationCandlelight flickering against the wall during a heavy conversationSunday morning coffee with the weight of the week still presentClosed eyes in a dark room letting the bass vibrate your chest
Moments worth waiting for
The transition from the haunting spoken word of 'X' into the driving, rhythmic defiance of 'Sorry Ain't Enough'.
The way the bassline in 'Wildfires' provides a steady, cool pulse against lyrics of profound grief and systemic exhaustion.
The sudden, jarring silence following the sirens and percussion in 'Don't Shoot Guns Down'.
Sounds like
2020s production with a 2020s soul
Sits beside
What's Going On - Marvin Gaye, To Pimp a Butterfly - Kendrick Lamar, There's a Riot Goin' On - Sly & The Family Stone, Lianne La Havas - Lianne La Havas
Lyrical territory
protest, identity, social_commentary
03Deviation
UNTITLED (Black Is) · vs · SAULT
Artist
This Album
Protest
Lyrics · ↑ +11% more than usual
On this album, protest sits about 11% more prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
