Freedom

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The debut album from singer and songwriter Leah Weller, 2022's Freedom showcases her fluidly organic brand of neo-soul and folky pop. If Weller's name sounds familiar, it should -- she's the daughter of iconic Jam/Style Council founder Paul Weller and former Wham!/Style Council singer Dee C. Lee. Aesthetically, Weller builds upon that family tradition, crafting funky, delicately psychedelic tracks that evoke both her parents' soulful style as well as the work of contemporary artists like Amy Winehouse and Corinne Bailey Rae. Helping her achieve this decade-crossing vibe is producer Steve Craddock, who played guitar on several of her father's albums and also worked with artists like Dot Allison and Liam Gallagher. There's a lushness to many of the tracks, including the opening "Freedom," where a dark cello and shimmering acoustic guitar rub gently against a thick bass groove and airy, plucked violins. Similarly, on the languid "Dive In," Weller croons against a bed of burnished horns, flute, and woody jazz bass. Both of these songs have that dusky, late-afternoon quality of the late-'60s/early'70s style of artists like Bill Withers and Terry Callier. Elsewhere, we get the Ennio Morricone-does-Motown atmosphere of "Wonder," the spacey, organ-drenched Traffic intimations of "Unity," and the crisp Byrdsian anthem "Summer at Last" with its spiraling 12-string guitar riff. Admittedly, Freedom can sometimes too easily be compared to similarly throwback albums by artists like the aforementioned Winehouse and the late Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings. Nonetheless, it is immaculately produced with an earthy, lived-in quality that nicely underpins Weller's soft, closed-eyed vocal style. With Freedom, Weller and Craddock bring together an enticing mix of vintage and modern sounds, improbably conjuring something along the lines of Rihanna singing with the Moody Blues, an aesthetic that would probably make Weller's parents proud.

© Matt Collar /TiVo