Review

Sault

Air

Forever Living Originals • 2022

Suddenly the world is made of cotton wool. Sault, the British soundtrack collective from the Black Lives Matter era, have erased the Molotov cocktails from past albums and with their new album »Air« downed some acid. That’s exactly what you should do as well, provided that you have – like Inflo, the brains behind the band – secured an early retirement by working on Adele’s last record. But the fact that the Brit has a knack for making a good sound is also emphasised by Michael Kiwanuka, Little Simz and The Kooks. The latter called him a »young Quincy Jones«. Nevertheless, he doesn’t give interviews. In any case, on »Air« Inflo unfurls the score and trumpets a symphony. You would never have expected any of the seven pieces in your wildest dreams. You want to lose yourself in each one of them. Chimes cling to strings, chorales set to ricochet between two hours of Frozen the musical and the performance of a piece by Ligeti. In the short interludes like »Hearts«, a harp plucks Moby tears from your face on a John Coltrane trip. Understandably, the air gets… wheeze… thinner at the top. At times kitsch and pathos drip into the orchestra pit. But if you’ve bought the ticket for the emotional rollercoaster, want to make an epic blockbuster, or simply roll out of bed to the sound of Jóhann Jóhannsson, you’re right on the money with the new Sault. The world is made of cotton wool. Well, cotton candy, in fact!