D’ANGELO AND THE VANGUARD Black Messiah

Fans have been waiting almost 15 years for new music from neo-funk, jazz and soul star D’Angelo, and Black Messiah – with his band The Vanguard – is the highly anticipated result.

The follow-up to 2000’s Voodoo contains 12 tracks which prove that Michael Eugene Archer, now 40, hasn’t lost his creative genius. Using live instruments without any digital plug-ins, the whole process was done old-school with tapes and vintage equipment allowing the real magic to shine through on tracks such as Sugah Daddy, Really Love and Ain’t That Easy.

There are also some political and socially conscious songs here, showing D’Angelo’s revolutionary side.

9/10 – Shereen Low