Snoh Aalegra’s Feels Rings the Right Bells

Snoh Aalegra may be an anomaly but she’s a terrific one.  A young Swedish woman who can sing neo-soul with conviction and so much plush is a formidable force.  Whether the song carries an austere melody or vibrates with moody electro funk, her voice adapts to the terrain and draws you in like a lure.

On Aalegra’s latest album release, Feels, she’s characteristically confident and cool as she sticks to familiar territory: the fickle nature of love.  Roving through a dozen plus songs exploring the tension and trauma of one-sided or fractured relationships, her strongest work happens when she goes up-tempo as she does in You Got Me.  With a beat that would make a Chicago stepper scoot post haste to the dance floor, the lyrics are served up with a spunky dose of sass.

Most of her collaborative work on the album also sport a fine luster.  Counterbalancing highly complementary voices, You Keep Me Waiting with Vic Mensa and Nothing Burns Like the Cold featuring Vince Staple beautifully pit smooth seduction against cool machismo.

Just as effective standing on her own, the title cut possessed all of the gravitas of an artist in full command of her gift.  The same impact came through on Time where the thrusters were opened to give her talent a chance to bloom.  Both songs were so reminiscent of an era when a beautiful voice woven through a sensuous melody was commonplace.   Almost jazz like with their elevated sensibilities and flowering maturity, you could admire them simply for their musical aesthetics.

With undistinguished musical arrangements and tepid vocal investment, the downtempo material lacked identity.  Not a huge disappointment given the album’s cumulative strengths.