''Air'' is the sixth studio album by English

contemporary R&B Contemporary R&B (or simply R&B) is a popular music genre that combines rhythm and blues with elements of pop, soul, funk, hip hop, and electronic music. The genre features a distinctive record production style, drum machine-backed rhythm ...

group Sault, released on 13 April 2022 to positive reception by critics.

Critical reception

The editorial staff at

AnyDecentMusic? AnyDecentMusic? is a website that collates album reviews from magazines, websites, and newspapers. Primarily focused on popular music – covering rock, pop, electronic, dance, folk, country, roots, hip-hop, R&B, and rap – albums are adjudg ...

scored characterized reviews as a 7.2 out of 10, with five reviews. The editors of

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gave ''Air'' four out of five stars, with reviewer Andy Kellman praising the group's to

choral music A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

, as well as the vocals on "Luos Higher". In ''

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'', Stevie Chick scored this release five out of five stars, calling this "boundary-breaking work for an entirely new and unexpected paradigm" after the group's

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

and hip hop roots. Shy Thomas of

Pitchfork Media ''Pitchfork'' (formerly ''Pitchfork Media'') is an American online music publication (currently owned by Condé Nast) that was launched in 1995 by writer Ryan Schreiber as an independent music blog. Schreiber started Pitchfork while working ...

rated ''Air'' an 83 out of 100, with the site naming it the Best New Music of the week; Thomas' review calls ''Air'' "too manifold to be easily simplified" and noting that it is an important statement about love. The same publication posted a review of the 39 best albums of 2022 so far on 13 June and included ''Air''. For

The Quietus ''The Quietus'' is a British online music and pop culture magazine founded by John Doran and Luke Turner. The site is an editorially independent publication led by Doran with a group of freelance journalists and critics. Content ''The Quiet ...

, Nathan Evans called this album "compositions deserve ''

Fantasia Fantasia International Film Festival (also known as Fantasia-fest, FanTasia, and Fant-Asia) is a film festival that has been based mainly in Montreal since its founding in 1996. Regularly held in July of each year, it is valued by both hardcore ...

''-style visuals", that still retain some of the group's R&B roots. '' Clash''s Robin Murray dissented, with a five out of 10 review that considers this work weak compared the band's back catalogue, calling it "disappointing and listless", but "at times pretty, at others curiously appealing". ''

Mojo Mojo may refer to: *Mojo (African-American culture), a magical charm bag used in voodoo Arts, entertainment and media Film and television * MOJO HD, an American television network * ''Mojo'' (play), by Jez Butterworth, made into a 1997 film * '' ...

''s Tom Doyle rated ''Air'' three out of five stars, calling it "impressive in its execution", but noting that it "too frequently tends to the bombastic". In ''

Uncut Uncut may refer to: * ''Uncut'' (film), a 1997 Canadian docudrama film by John Greyson about censorship * ''Uncut'' (magazine), a monthly British magazine with a focus on music, which began publishing in May 1997 * '' BET: Uncut'', a Black Enter ...

'', John Lewis assessed this release a seven out of 10 for being "a rather audacious curveball" that is "a little stiff and metronomic in places".

Track listing

#"Reality" – 3:58 #"Air" – 5:54 #"Heart" – 3:52 #"Solar" – 12:34 #"Time Is Precious" – 7:03 #"June 55" – 5:31 #"Luos Higher" – 6:10

Critical reception

Track listing

Chart performance

See also