Rose in the Dark showcases the formation of an emerging artist who could be a true standout in modern soul music. Cleo Sol, with her delicate and chill demeanor, is on stage with her band playing songs that could relax the tension and ease the mind. The title track’s another highlight that introduces these funky basslines and polished guitar licks backing Sol’s dreamy performance. Lyrically, Sol presents herself like an older sister, teaching listeners how to patient (“How do you run before learning how to walk?,” she coos on the psych-soul cut, “Her Light”) while simultaneously expressing vulnerability and optimism (the fauna-induced “Sure of Myself”).
The grown up confidence in blurring the personal, the political, the sexual and the everyday in the lyrics is reflected in the subtle power of the music; there are no big choruses, and Sol’s voice is velvet throughout, but there’s absolute assurance that the hooks embedded and woven through the grooves are plenty to make it addictive. It is a masterpiece.