Cleo Sol
Gentlewoman
Forever Living Originals
Buy via Bandcamp | Listen Below
Cleo Sol’s fifth studio album Gentlewoman arrives after an uncharacteristically long gap since her last offerings. In 2023, she released a duo of albums (Heaven and Gold) that offered bliss, reassurance and impeccable work from her beau and gifted musician, Inflo. She returns here on Gentlewoman with many of the same elements intact—the musical connection between Inflo and Sol still dominates proceedings and he is as skillful as ever in conjuring backdrops that serve her voice perfectly.
And yet despite the similarities with her earlier work, I found it more difficult to connect with this album in comparison to them and that has caused me some consternation in preparing to write about it. There is a recurring theme throughout the album of a loving devotion that is expressed both musically and lyrically in the same kind of ways as previous albums. Though each song is produced beautifully and presented exquisitely, some feel like a retread of ground already covered.
That is certainly the feeling that dominates through the first half of the album—it is far from terrible, but it just didn’t connect with me. “Together” is a case in point—subtle percussion, delicate piano lines and Sol’s voice create a calm, sweet atmosphere but there are a dozen other songs of its ilk in her back catalogue. There are only so many times I can hear the same sentiment expressed in almost the same way, before I wonder why I should continue.
But then at the end of “Together,” it transmogrifies into something exponentially more exciting and attention grabbing. As it becomes “Their Smiles Are Not The Same,” it grows into something much more dramatic. Dave Okumu’s guitar (a highlight whenever he appears), the strings and semi-operatic vocals elevate it to levels seldomly heard elsewhere. It stands head and shoulders above everything else on the album. I would have loved a much more expansive palette to be used throughout.
Listen to the Album:
Another highlight is “All Because Of Love.” Starting off in a similar vein to earlier songs, it changes up again after about two-and-a-half minutes and it sounds like an Isley Brothers’ record from 1971 and there are few better accolades than that. “Little Things” is the closest Sol has ever come to singing a straight-up soul song in a retro-Daptone style and offers another intriguing look into what could have been.
Every piece of art we encounter is filtered through our state of mind or emotions when we first meet it. We’ve all heard songs or albums that did little for us upon first listen but, when the time was right and our psyche needed it, we fell in love with it. I’m not sure if that will be the case with this album and I’m quite happy to put my hands up and say that that’s a “me problem.”
Maybe I’m not in need of the album’s messages of devotion and self-healing right now and that’s why it didn’t resonate with me. Maybe the safety and security of the arrangements smother me rather than comfort me. Or maybe, just maybe, the path has already been trodden and I wanted new journeys to new places.
But what do you think?
Notable Tracks: “All Because Of Love” | “Force Of Love” | “Gentlewoman” | “Little Things” “Their Smiles Are Not The Same”
LISTEN:
