A rhythmic explosion of neo-soul and post-punk funk. Warm analog grooves meet collective choral vocals in a defiant celebration of Black joy and resilience.
It's the ultimate protest record that you can actually dance to in your kitchen.
A vibrant, rhythmic celebration of resilience that uses the dance floor as a site of protest.
Released only months after UNTITLED (Black Is), UNTITLED (Rise) serves as the high-energy companion piece to Sault's 2020 output. While the former dealt with the weight of systemic oppression and mourning, Rise focuses on the resilience and joy found within the Black experience. Sonically, the album shifts toward more dance-oriented influences, incorporating elements of boogie, disco, and post-punk while maintaining the group's signature analog-heavy, minimalist soul production. The project is widely attributed to producer Inflo and collaborators like Cleo Sol and Jack Peñate, though the group maintains a level of anonymity that centers the collective message over individual celebrity. Critically, it was hailed as a landmark achievement, securing Sault's position as one of the most vital voices in contemporary music. The album's ability to blend uncompromising political commentary with sophisticated, infectious arrangements made it a consensus pick for album of the year across major publications.
Put this on for
Living room dance floor where the joy is a form of resistanceHeadphones on during a night walk through a city that feels heavyKitchen floor at 2am when the news cycle finally stops spinningMorning coffee with the sun hitting the dust motes and the spirit needing a liftBackseat of a car while the world outside looks like it is changing foreverLate night studio session where the groove is the only thing that makes sense
Moments worth waiting for
The explosive transition into the four-on-the-floor disco groove of I Just Want to Dance
The hauntingly sparse vocal arrangement that closes out Little Boy
The way the percussion layers build into a polyrhythmic fever pitch on Strong
Sounds like
2020s production with a 2020s soul
Sits beside
Voodoo - D'Angelo, The Flowers in Your Vase - 79.5, Black Focus - Yussef Kamaal
Lyrical territory
protest, social_commentary, identity
03Deviation
UNTITLED (Rise) · vs · SAULT
Artist
This Album
High Energy
Energy · ↑ +27% more than usual
On this album, high energy sits about 27% more prominent than across the rest of the artist's catalogue.
