Nine

Sault dropped this with a countdown clock and pulled it after a set run, which is its own kind of statement, but the music holds up without the gimmick. It's stripped-down, groove-first, closer to a demo tape than a polished soul record — and that rawness is the point. "Bitter Streets" hits hardest, drums clipped tight under a vocal that sounds recorded in one take. Left-field soul that trusts the groove over the hook.

Filed underleft-field soulminimalist productiongroove-drivenlondon