As pubs and salons re-open, you may be forgiven for thinking that Lockdown™ is over. Alas, the arts and live music scenes in the UK show no signs of returning to normality. Singers, songwriters, and other creatives are gripped with anxiety about the future of their careers. The House That Soul Built is fortunate enough to still be receiving music submissions – you can read our latest Lockdown Round-Up below – and we sincerely hope they will keep coming.

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ZEBEDE – ‘L.M.E’

London-based neo-soul group Zebede first caught this writer’s attention at a support gig for fellow neo-soulers Brother Zulu at The Constitution in Camden, North London. Fronted by the charismatic Leah Cleaver (read her interview with Lock magazine here), the group have frequented venues across London’s live music scene, often appearing on Sofar Sounds and Secret Sessions line-ups. Their latest single ‘L.M.E’  is about ‘the best and worst parts of a relationship… The salacious obsession that love can create, but also the vulnerable quicksand it can pull you into.’ Composed by all five members of the group, the song juxtaposes slinky verses with a thrusting pre-chorus and refrain. ‘Do you love me enough, love me enough?’ Cleaver sings, bringing out more drama with each repetition. What begins as a trendy-sounding neo-soul jam becomes something darker and anguished.

rum.gold – ‘Fix Me’

There is a quietness and stillness to rum.gold‘s delivery that captivates the listener. It shone on his last release ‘Save You’ and compels on latest release ‘Fix Me’, described by the Brooklyn-based artist as an ‘acoustic sketch’. His ringing, melismatic falsetto spills like a waterfall over lyrics both so simple and poetically cryptic. Opening with chilling repetitions of ‘I’m sorry’, rum.gold sings of the irreconcilability of himself and a partner – ‘You can’t be my northern star / When you’re the reason home seems so far.’ However, the faint police siren which can be heard as the song draws to a close charges the piece with something wider. Perhaps the song is about more than just the dysfunctional relationship between two individuals. Perhaps ‘Fix Me’ doubles as a comment on the irreconcilability of Blackness and the American state?

Dedicated Men of Zion – ‘I Feel Alright’

Hailing from rural North Carolina, Dedicated Men of Zion is a vocal line-up of four church-grown men – Anthony Daniels and his son Antwan, son-in-law Marcus Sugg, and Dexter Weaver. The group are signed to the newly founded record label Bible & Tire Recording Co., helmed by producer Bruce Watson of Fat Possum Records. ‘I Feel Alright’, taken from their debut album Can’t Turn Me Around (2020), is old-school gospel with a refreshingly live feel.

Molly Green – ‘Just a Girl’

A 2020 graduate of the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts, Molly Green has an air of Norah Jones to her delivery on latest single ‘Just a Girl’. ‘“Just A Girl” is about breaking up and moving on. I wrote it when I was 16, feeling positive about the past and looking forward to a new adventure,’ she explains. A dual guitar arrangement sits beneath her understated, breezy vocals.

Image Copyright:
ZEBEDE, ‘L.M.E’ – frtyfve
rum.gold, ‘Fix Me’ – Leola LLC
Dedicated Men of Zion, ‘I Feel Alright’ – Bible & Tire Recording Co.
Molly Green, ‘Just a Girl’ – Modern Sky Entertainment