Neon Soul

Falling halfway between the modern R&B of Introducing the Hardline and the extravagant Neither Fish nor Flesh, Symphony or Damn is Terence Trent D'Arby's most ambitious album yet. It's also his best, because it takes the fine songwriting of his debut and melds it to the sonic excesses of Fish. Sure, some of it is embarrassing (it's hard not to cringe during the "Welcome to My Monasteryo" declaration at the beginning of the album), but more often than not, D'Arby's experimentations succeed, and succeed grandly, at that.

With his kaleidoscopic jams and stark reveries, Velvet Negroni's Jeremy Nutzman explores the psychedelic side of R&B. An African-American raised by white evangelical parents who kept him from secular music while he was growing up, Nutzman brings a fresh perspective to familiar sounds, imbuing his songs with a haunting distance and surprising juxtapositions on 2019's Neon Brown. Born and raised in Minnesota, Nutzman was adopted into a white evangelical family at a young age.

With a great name, this collective dusts off the raw sound of ’60s soul and revive the licks, groovy horns and funky beats with a distinctive personalized twist. If you’re a lover of D/troit, or American band Vintage Trouble, you’ll feel so welcome here.
Rhythmically built with a head-nodding, mid-tempo beat, Stuff I Need to Say is a feisty declaration of love. Lead singer Johan Hellands’ raspy, bold and dynamic vocals demand attention. And in true JB style, the background boys offer support in fitting bursts.