One of the coolest modern soul albums of the late 00s – Solange's soulful and quite creative Sol-Angel & The Hadley St Dream LP – with classic 70s soul spirit inflected numbers that still feel very much of the present day – this is a record that really should have took off in a major way! Titles include "God Given Name", "TONY", "Dancing In The Dark", "Soundcastle Disco", "Ode To Marvin", "This Bird", "Valentine's Day" and more CD

The album that finally made the world sit up and notice that Solange is a completely great artist on her own – and hardly needs to ever be spoken of in terms that involve her sister! The set's got a vibe that's as personal and put out there as Solange's image on the cover – music that's more openly expressive than you'd expect for a mainstream soul record, and linked together with these really creative interludes that continue the unique spirit of the songs and really makes the whole thing work together as one. Solange is clearly the leading attraction, but the set also features guest appearances from Q-Tip, Lil Wayne, Sampha, Kelela, Nia Andrews, and Kelly Rowland – on titles that include "Rise", "Cranes In The Sky", "Mad", "Don't Touch My Hair", "Junie", "Don't Wish Me Well", "Scales", "Tina Taught Me", and "The Chosen Ones". CD

Fantastic sounds from Flying Lotus – an artist who just keeps on pushing past any conventional expectations, to a point where his music is almost a genre unto itself! The record's got this very tripped-out sort of vibe – very much in keeping with the image on the cover – and while many others are exploring this territory of late, few ever even get close to the right sort of mix that's going on here – subtle elements of soul, funk, jazz, hip hop, and maybe a million other influences – all flowing through the double-length space of the set, as it Flying Lotus redefines the sound of soul in the modern age. The set's got guest work from Thundercat, Shabazz Palaces, David Lynch, George Clinton, Anderson Paak, Little Dragon, Solange, and others – and titles include "Post Requisite", "Takashi", "Spontaneous", "More", "Burning Down The House", "Actually Virtual", "Find Your Own Way Home", "The Climb", "Debbie Is Depressed", "Black BAloons Reprise", and "Land Of Honey". CD

Fantastic sounds from Flying Lotus – an artist who just keeps on pushing past any conventional expectations, to a point where his music is almost a genre unto itself! The record's got this very tripped-out sort of vibe – very much in keeping with the image on the cover – and while many others are exploring this territory of late, few ever even get close to the right sort of mix that's going on here – subtle elements of soul, funk, jazz, hip hop, and maybe a million other influences – all flowing through the double-length space of the set, as it Flying Lotus redefines the sound of soul in the modern age. The set's got guest work from Thundercat, Shabazz Palaces, David Lynch, George Clinton, Anderson Paak, Little Dragon, Solange, and others – and titles include "Post Requisite", "Takashi", "Spontaneous", "More", "Burning Down The House", "Actually Virtual", "Find Your Own Way Home", "The Climb", "Debbie Is Depressed", "Black BAloons Reprise", and "Land Of Honey". LP, Vinyl record album

A fantastic album from Mourning A BLKstar – even more powerful than their set dedicated to Eric Garner, and a batch of material that really gets at the righteous energy of this Cleveland combo! The group see themselves as part of the James Baldwin tradition of the artist bearing witness – and their genre-bending, gender non-confirming style really pushes forward the energy of underground soul music – as they worked together in an empty storefront in Cleveland to craft this beautiful cycle of songs initial sketches they all fleshed out together – in a mix of shifting vocal leads, heavy drums, dark guitar lines, and proud horn parts. Titles include "Sense Of An Ending", "Something JD Said", "Been Around", "Devil Get Behind Me", "Whom The Bell Tolls", "The Wants", "Deluze (Solange say rmx)", "So Young So", "The Box", and "4 Days". LP, Vinyl record album