Enigmatic Collective SAULT Wrestle With Hope, Politics And Liberation On ‘Nine’

Enigmatic Collective SAULT Wrestle With Hope, Politics And Liberation On ‘Nine’


June 30, 2021

It's difficult to pinpoint who exactly is running the show, but after SAULT made a sudden appearance in 2019 with the albums 5 and 7, their hazy blend of post-punk funk, neo-soul and the occasional gospel-laced vocal display piqued our curiosity. Following last year's highly-praised Untitled (Black Is) and Untitled (Rise) which arrived in the heat of political unrest, the collective have released yet another sonically potent project dubbed Nine.

Through an extensive 10-track run, SAULT explore the qualms of growing up Black in England as well as touching on themes of Black liberation and politics. They manoeuvre between frantic percussion in tracks like "London Gangs" and fuzzed-out vocal effects in the punk-tinged "Fear". Elsewhere, the group also calls on Little Simz in the chopped lo-fi "You From London". Although Nine houses a range of writer and producer credits, for the music-obsessed who would naturally attempt to trace their identities, it only leads us down a trail of empty rabbit holes.

Maintaining their sense of enigma, SAULT have also announced that Nine will only be available on streaming platforms for 99 days following its release. After that, only those who purchase a physical copy will have infinite access to the album. Until then, indulge in SAULT's world of ephemeral escapism take in Nine below.




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