Silk Rhodes: Silk Rhodes

Sasha Desree and Michael Collins know what it takes to make modern soul music zing.

The debut album from the Baltimore singer and producer has hints galore of the debt they owe to such r’n’b kingpins as Prince, Sly Stone and D’Angelo, but there’s a satisfying number of bumps in the wash to make this more than just another well-meaning and well executed homage to vintage records and styles.

The pair bring a sense of adventure and experimentation to the songs, through both keeping things sparse (Pains) and embellishing the track with all manner of sonic additives (Persomal Use). There's also a lot of great digging to be done through Desree's powerful lyrics throughout.

A record of great, slinky, woozy ideas brought thrillingly to the boil with the help of strong, vibrant melodies.

[ stonesthrow.com ]