Untitled (Black Is)

Liked a lot of the beats, but only a few i’d want to come back to. Stand-out tracks: -Pray up Stay Up -Monsters -Why We Cry

Interesting. I can't say I really liked it that much, but the lyrics are pretty powerful.

A lot of albums that may not have been completely geared towards me as a demographic I can still get something out of. Music is normally an equalizer. This album, which seems to be an inspirational album, is one of the few times I did not feel anything. It just didn't hit me. A lot of the songs seemed very mantra-ish. There wasn't that song structure: verse-chorus-verse. Maybe that was part of it, I was waiting for someone to start singing, when the songs all just seemed to be intros. Not getting it at all.

Enjoyed this far more than I had expected. Didn't fall in love but the vocals were smooth and some nice basslines going on

I mean it's a nice idea a concept album with something to say. It's just not very good and can even be cynically thought of as a cash in on trauma.

2.5/5. Very good. Id like to hear more.

Mezcla de hip-hop suave con toques de jazz. Poco innovador, más allá de ser fácil de escuchar.

British (again) pop album with an interesting background. The performers are unknown/unconfirmed, and the concept is akin to the BLM movement; this album being especially timely. That said, most of it didn't feel fully formed.

Chyba najmlodsza plyta w zestawieniu jak do tej pory, bo rocznik 2k20, oczywiscie brytyjskiego pochodzenia, ale co dziwne plyta z podziemia, pierwsze slysze tytul lub nazwe bandy, jakze tajemniczego SAULT, ktory jest kolektywem prawdziwie indyjskim, nie dajacym zadnych wystepow livowych, nie udzielajacym wywiadow, a jedynie puszczajacym albumy do zycia, za ktorymi stoi pan pod pseudonimem Infolo, ktory wedlug tego co wyczytalem ogarnia strone instruentalna, na ktorej wokalnie slychac glownie panie Cleo Sol i Kid Sister, chociaz pojawiaja sie takze featury, ciezko tutaj o konkretny gatunek, bo prawie godzinny material to az 20 trakow, ktore znaczaco odbiegaja od siebie muzycznie, ale jednak wspolnym mianownikiem jest czarnosc, jak sam tytul sugeruje, wiec pojecie czarnosci jest motywem przewodnim calego krazka, od tego co to jest czarnosc, przez to dlaczego czarnosci jest trudno w swiecie po piekno czarnosci, wiec czarne zycie sie liczy, jak przystalo na rok 2k20 i nadal zaskakujaco aktualny, z jednej strony fajnie ze ma sie az taka chlube z swoich korzeni, ale z drugiej postrzeganie czlowieka tylko przez kolor skory jest tylko bardziej utrwalane, wiec afrobeat na miare naszych czasow, muzycznie dobry odsluch, ale kontent liryczny zachacza atakuje black powerowa filozofia, ktora zamiast laczyc ludzi stara sie budowac nowe podzialy, na plejke dodam najbardziej afrowy utwor w moim odczuciu, wiec bow ktory featuruje pana Kiwanuka, ktory brzmi prawdziwie afrykansko, jak na standardy tego nagrania w ktorym wiekszosc wokali to brytyjski angielski, wiec popularny temat dla niszowej grupy sluchaczy, moze za x lat bedzie wspominane jako cos co bylo ukrytym gemem czasow czarnego zycia ktore jest wazne

Not my cup of char.

2/5 not my cup of tea

I wish the music was as striking and powerful as the album artwork. Love the concept, but the delivery leaves a lot to be desired. Couldn’t get into it.

Interesting….

Interesting. But not for me

2.5

Given the subject matter, I wanted to have high praise. My perhaps too honest opinion is that it is essentially an art project from a decent art school. The music feels like an after thought to "the message." I thought, maybe I could like it as background music but the art house nature keeps it from fading into the scenery. That all sounds harsh because I do appreciate and support the message and think there is some talented drive loops in there.

Meh

Begon wel aardig maar al snel werd het iets te

Ik was erg enthousiast na de eerste paar nummers, maar het werd toch behoorlijk saai allemaal.

SAULT zou volgens de media de Banksy van de r&b moeten zijn en de plaat als een meesterwerk moeten worden beschouwd. Ik hoor het nog niet zo goed. Het kabbelt me teveel voort.

Saaaaaaai.

I did not know that this album even came out in 2020 but a lot was going on that year. This album came out after Georg Floyd was murdered. The music reflects the emotion, however, the music itself is not memorable at least not in the way other protest albums have been.

I really want to like this. I appreciate the Black affirmations. Sorry Ain’t Enough and Bow were great. The rest was just sleepy ☹️

Good enough. Fitting for 2020

This was released in 2020? I thought this list was older than that. Good to know. I like how this album sounds and there are moments that ring out through the sameness, but lyrically it felt a bit like how PHILADELPHIA is a gay movie made for straight people. It's a tad on the nose, isn't it? There's obviously power in the repeated simplicity of saying something like "black is beautiful," but I guess I was kind of hoping it would dig deeper than that. (Not that it has to.) Maybe it does and I'm just tuning out due to the relatively relaxed nature of the music behind the lyrics... God knows I'm the last person to pretend to have any authority in this arena whatsoever. But if I want a glimpse into the black experience I feel like I could do better by reaching for a Kanye album or that last Stevie Wonder double-cheeseburger we just listened to. And those would have the added benefit of having some, you know, honest to god good songs.

It was fine. All in all it wasn't really for me and the songs all just blended together.

Didn't super enjoy it.

Saved Prior: None Off Rip: Stop Dem, Pray up Stay Up Cutting Edge: None Overall Notes: Very 2020. Not the biggest fan of this kind of soul/R&B though I see the appeal. Appreciate the message but not my vibe.

Chill background music

Chill

Interesting

A little too new agey and strange for my tastes. Might hit right for some people but nothing very interesting to my ears

This one feels like it could have done more at pretty much... everything. It could have been more observant, more creative, more unique... Instead, this reminded me of two things: the short story I tried to write in 10th grade where I repeatedly spelled out its central theme while desperately trying to build any kind of compelling world around it, and the worship music I sat through in Chapel every week that made the same few observations about God that were neither interesting nor profound. My favorite tracks here sonically are mired in near-cringeworthy lyrics that say things that have been said much more creatively before (e.g. "Don't shoot, guns down / Racist policeman"). Basically, I just feel like you'd be better off spending your time reading/listening to/studying anything more observant or revolutionary about the racism Black people face in our world. Or listen to this, who cares.

No soy lo suficiente negro como para que me gusté este disco xd.

No me gusto

One for the white wokists to own. Not me, I’m just a lawnmower, you can tell me by the way I walk. 1/5 11/5/26

Not bad vocals, and music. Not my cup of tea.

Mildly inoffensive R & B, such as you might hear piped over the speakers at Poundland! Shan't be back for any more.

Not sure what to say So it’s best to say nothing at all

One of the most racist albums I’ve ever heard

Not my thing at all tbh. Fav song is ‘Miracles’.

wtf is this crap

lo único bueno que tiene es que es un álbum todo de canciones así como antirracistas

No me gusto nada, muy raro todo. Salvo alguna que otra cancion, no le encuentro el ritmo, flojo flojo

muy buen ritmo. album protestista y liberal

Horrible. First I thought I was listening to a kids Choir. The moment it went from kids choir to gospel choir I turned it off. I made it through halfway the third song.

1 decent song and didn’t listen much to the rest of it.

Ei

I wish I had enough integrity to finish this. Maybe later, but I can't right now

Vamos começar pela superfície. A capa já se mostra pomposa ao extremo, o título um dos mais pretensiosos que já vi (que escrotidão chamar um disco de Untitled e dar a ele um título mesmo assim), e claro, a arma fumegante, a data de lançamento: 2020, um ano recheado de inúmeras psicoses coletivas. De fato tudo estava apontando para um destino terrível a este disco. Dito e feito. Batidas rudimentares, vocais básicos e produção quase que amadora. Tudo isso como veículo de uma mensagem vazia, que já foi entregue de maneira infinitamente mais eficaz por verdadeiros artistas que realmente tinham algo a dizer. Falta alma. Falta garra. Falta emoção. Falta trabalho e atenção aos detalhes. Estou criticando o fato que este disco exalta o negro? Obviamente não. Estou criticando o fato que este disco é ruim, entediante, vazio e impotente. Uma grande perda de 56 minutos. 0.5

Groupe inconnu. Aucun intérêt, beaucoup trop long, répétitif et ennuyeux. Arrêt en cours de route. =>1/5

1:5

geschreeuw

Not my thing

israeli

The way to get on this list is clearly to be wildly eclectic and a little batshit

it was dull and monotonous. pretty crap.

How can something so purportedly Black be so Beige? Mostly boring, often repetitive, and a bit of ASMR. Weird. (But not in the good way.) What can I say nice?? Um.. the production is pretty good. Sounds polished. Not enough music with instruments here to report on. A few different voices that are OK, I guess. There's no passion behind this. The things I need in music are technical prowess and passion. One can make me like a thing, while getting both is a godsend. This though, fails in both areas. Would never listen to this on purpose and I can't think of anyone else that would. Not sure who this is for really. I want to give it a 1.7 because it's not HORRIBLE, but given the system we have here, I am going with a 1.

🖕

Not good

This Soul album builds its grooves on deep basslines, steady funk-inflected drums, sparse guitars, gospel-tinged keys, and layered percussion. The vocals shift between intimate whispers, soaring gospel-like choruses, and urgent spoken word, while the lyrics focus on Black identity and empowerment, giving the record undeniable meaning. Musically I found it unappealing and it failedt to leave a lasting impression.

* Boring, does not fit to my taste of music.

If the album name and cover art didn't give it away, the opening track does ...

I remember all the fuss about their live shows and the mystery surrounding them, and thought for a nanosecond at the time, I must find out about them. I didn't, but i wished I had to prepare me for this. It was truly dreadful, but could have been so much better. Basic level songwriting at its worst. Those lyrics, talk about some sort of paranoia regarding their race. Credit to all the rappers out there, I may dislike their songs, attitude etc, but at least they nail their point home in a much more straightforward and mostly forceful way. This had the equivalent force of being hit around the face with a wet lettuce leaf. Over hyped twaddle.

I was put off by the first song saying 'black is beautiful' over and over - the second song saying back black black over and over - imagine if the first and second song said "white is right" and "white white white" over and over. This tainted the third song which is just a list of countries in Africa, and the four about police violence. Song odd matters, people! There's songs about god too. *coughs like Gollom eating elf bread* Ignoring the first two songs - and the lyrics generally - the vocals are nice but nothing special and the instruments sparse to the point of void. I suppose if your lived experience is being subject to prejudice in a overtly racist society then this may speak to you. In my patented -100 to 100 rating system where -50 is being preached to in a closed space on a hot day is -50 then this is -30 because at least i could get away.

Found it a bit dull. One song only contained the title as lyrics, I don’t know, but it’s just not my taste. I gave up after 6 songs

WTF??

Rating: 3/10 Instrumentally and vocally this was okay, Wildfires is an amazing song and the only standout on this album. My main complaint is the lyricism: just stating "black is beautiful" or "black is powerful" is not saying anything meaningful, insightful, or interesting. Other artists have covered this theme in a way that's a 1000X more interesting: Public Enemy, NWA, Kendrick Lamar, Mos Def, etc. This theme is consistent with every song on this album, so that is why I fault it so much. I understand the intention, but the execution is horrible.

You know, it really had its moments I enjoyed, but I really felt most of this was pretty bad. Looking into the group, it seems that it's some sort of anonymous collective. I think I just like some of the musicians involved significantly more than the other ones. I'm just not the target audience for this record. Also, those ASMR interludes were borderline unlistenable lol.

One word. Awkward. Perhaps I lack the relevant cultural background, but there wasn’t a single aspect I enjoyed or could relate to.

Untitled (Black Is) by Sault feels bloated and hard to follow, with production that leans more boring than adventurous despite its ambitious ideas.

Unknown band. One subject only. Being black. Repetitive lyrics. Boring.

Absolute Shite

Not for me.

I would rate lower, if I could. There has to be a better way to discuss real or perceived racism than to create a racism rant against racism, especially in a format as repetitive and artsy as this tried to be.

Some parts were decent but overall kind of boring for me.

Ret ekstremt eksempel på en slut-10er bølge af plader som ikke kunne have mere end 3 sange uden et lille ASMR-interlude, jeg kan godt forstå hvorfor det er vigtigt men det virkede aldrig for mig. Egentlig ret groovy og gode beats, men alle sangene har samme tema og jeg synes pladen endte med at føles meget lang. Er det ikke lidt try-hard at kalde sin plade for Untitled (Black Is)? Så er den jo for helvede ikke untitled...

This was a long and hard listen. I found it very uninteresting. Both its themes and the music in general.

I wanted to like this one because the atmosphere and production kind of intruiged me, but I found it to be relentlessly boring. Every single song is a basic endlessly repeating drum beat and bassline with bland, repetitive vocals and instrumentation dropped on top of it. I just couldn't do it.

Considering the topic I felt no real impact, no power, and no emotion. Where TPAB is the gold standard on albums taking on black power, this album is at the opposite end of the meter. Sonically uninteresting and lyrically trite.

rubbish

Not into it.

sorry not for me

Not my thing

Black, bla, bla, bla

Interesting!

good beats, no substance. gimme something to sink my teeth into. this is mall store music.

A cool sound but so repetitive

It's like Solange Knowles was tasked to make aThe Go Team boring and succeeded

I didn't know the music can be so woke!

Did not enjoy. Not even a little bit. Annoying if anything. 1/5

I get the message but it’s not something I would listen to

I am very against albums with more interludes and poetry than actual music. Best Song: Bow Rating: 2.0/10 1 Stars

Inte för mig

A bunch of beats on a loop and slam poetry

I can appreciate this album for its cultural impact and overarching message. I would never listen to it again for pure enjoyment purposes, but it’s nice to know something like this exists out there.

-_-

I found this to be quite boring...

extremely bad album. the female vocalists aren’t bad either. the songs are wanting to be seen as having a bunch of meaning but they really don’t they’re just words repeated over and over again. instrumentals suck. also some narcissism in the lyrics. calling yourself god? really? the artists should really look into kendrick lamar to see how you actually empower black people whilst also making a song good and, not dragging down other races when doing it.

Ok, you lost me. Never heard of them or this album. Please share the reason this album made the Top1001 list? It has to be based solely on the message, which isn't a valid reason in my opinion to include an album in the Top 1001, or every Bob Marley album would be on here. That decision should be focused on entire package - the choice to include it was not based on the music, not the delivery, maybe the vibe, not the influence, not the hits, & not the underwhelming vocals. The message is necessary today, but much of this is like spoken poetry with a beat. I believe it was created to wake people up and see the light, noble and needed, but the album is not "essential listening", unless the goal is to open eyes. Even the "hit", "Wildfires" (with 154M listens) was average & went nowhere. "Why We Cry Why We Die", another popular listener track, was boring, repetitive & also went nowhere. "Monsters" felt like it could have been on the radio with a bit more polish, or at least used in a movie, it felt modern & had some urgency. I missed the point I guess, but I'm a music first listener, I'm not reading into the lyrics or message for enjoyment. If it makes me bob my head, dance, play air guitar, bang on invisible drums, get a rush or feel like I need to move then the music has done its job, this album had none of that.

lol

Congratulations to myself for surviving through the very end.

Too generic.

This NPR-ass bullshit is example infinity for why Brits can’t do hip hop. Wish I could give it zero stars.

There was nothing soulful or funky about this album. I suppose the message behind the music is meant with good intentions but this blows. The production is shit, the mixing is horrendous, and it felt so damn long for 56 minutes. The attempt at being "unapologetically black" is laughable. Piggybacking off the BLM movement this misses the mark so bad. A weak effort at trying to make something radical and inspiring. Best - Wildfires Worst - most of the album 1.50/5

Did nothing for me. I found it boring a flat.

Langweilig Langweilig Langweilig Fazit: Langweilig

This is the LaCroix of R&B, and maybe even music in general. This is muzak that thinks it has something to say. Repeating the words “Don’t Shoot Guns Down” over and over doesn’t make it meaningful. An annoying experience that unfortunately I can’t rate higher than a 1.

Truly terrible. Boring and pretentious.

If it weren't for the godawful speaking in certain songs, this album would be great. Unfortunately though, the speaking voice smothers any chance this album had of being remotely good...

Gemiddelde: 4,2 Album als geheel: 4,5 EINDCIJFER 4,3

What the fu)$ is this??? Is this sex music or protest music. Im confussed. Experimental speak easy music that is not great for either. This album could easily be erased from this list

Forgotten it already,

I'd rather pick the dried shit out of a dead sheep's fleece and use it as a toothpick than listen to this utter wank again.

Garbage

Not my kind of music

Not for me. She has a nice voice, but there's not much to the music.

I could not wait for this to be over. So many of the songs were insufferable. Did this make it just to have something from 2020 on the list? There had to be better albums. Even the songs that started out alright went on way too long. “Wildfires” and “Pray Up Stay Up” are the only two songs I didn’t absolutely hate, but it was a low bar.

Victim.

Boring

I get it. There's a message. But it has the lyrical complexity of a thirteen year old's essay. Boring lyrics and repetitious music don't do it for me.

Surpreendeu por aparecer um disco de 2020 na lista, e negativamente por ser de hiphop.

Sabes cómo a veces uno encuentra ese disco, ESE DISCO que es como si hubiese sido escrito sólo para ti? Es como una terapia musical, cada canción, cada frase te llega justo así (meme de Pacha). Bueno, estoy seguro que este disco es eso para mucha gente, pero resulta que no lo es para mí.

Go ahead, tell me I didn’t get this album. I didn’t finish it, nor did I enjoy it. Some of the songs are pretty decent, but they seem to break off in weird ways as soon as I even start to enjoy it. It feels unorganized and all over the place. The whole message is hard to take in when it’s presented like an ASMR video every other track.

While I can appreciate music that does not aim to appeal to the masses, this album had little or no emotion, repetitive instruments, bland lyrics, no creativity, the whole album felt like filler

Weirdly bland and also jarring.

Litteän harmaa mukautuva kulttuuri. Ei kiinnosta että albumi kuulostaa hyvältä kokonaisuudelta, jos en aio kuunnella sitä uudestaan. Tässä pelleily on viety astetta pidemmälle ja raivattu tunne pois pelistä. Vaikka kappaleet kuulostavat hyvältä, ei niillä kavuta kovin korkealle. Miksei tänään ole saman verran tilaa olla originaali kuin -90 ja -00-luvuilla? Jokin, joka yrittää ilmaista kauneutta, mielikuvitusta, merkityksen etsimistä, oman erikoisosaamisen hallintaa, tarkoitusta, alkaa kilpailla asian kanssa, joka on huomion kääre, mutta ei ymmärryksen. Sitoutuminen sisältöön, mutta ei tutkiminen tai uuden luominen. Tämä sisältö on post-Internet aikakauden ongelma, joka on ruokkinut ja kasvattanut tämän albumin, siinä lempeydessä ja rakkaudessa mitä ennalta määritetyn massasisällön tuottaminen on.

One track does not an album make! Wildfires the only track of substance, the rest was protest rhetoric of no quality. I'm trying to up my game and be polite in my review of this album, because normally I'd have just said its a load of shit.

Tehnyt viimeisen parin vuoden aikana noin kymmenen tunnin pituista levyä. Kiva juttu, mutta eihän tässä hyvistä biiseistä ole kysymys.

"Finally we reach the end". Yep, that's exactly how I feel about this album. Whinging set to a drumbeat. Where's the music?

Genre: Contemporary R&B

This is not for me. I liked bits of some songs but not all of any song. The closest was Monster. Disjointed and distracting. I’ve never heard this album (or group) before and heard nothing that compels me to listen again.

Sorry. Didn't get it. I guess I'm too old.

Blah

not for me

I feel like there was probably a message in this album, but I was bored as fuck and tuned out. Somehow this is only an hour long - it felt like 2. I just wanted this shit to end after song 5. IM SAULTY 1/10

Pretty easy to listen to. But if you like this type of music, then go listen to Moby, whom they mimicked, and get your money's worth.

This didn't talk to me.

Not keen

Just terrible. Would have sounded derivative in 1996, now just puzzling why anyone would make something so dull. Couldn't even finish it

Meh