Johari Noelle

Things You Can't Say Out Loud

BY Ryan B. PatrickPublished Jun 3, 2019

7
Straight from the southside of Chicago arrives Johari Noelle, best known from her tutelage under Kelly Rowland. The emerging soul singer's Things You Can't Say Out Loud (TYCSOL) is plenty ambitious, but has the talent to back it up.
 
The five-track effort has a clear new soul feel: the sleepy "CrazyLonely" is less a jolt than it is an urgent sensation, while "Regrets" goes off on a driven midtempo hip-hop drum line, and is a head-nodding affair speaking to things done differently. "Release" is a slow-burn dip into lustful expression, and a number like "Too Much" has a sexy swagger that earns a place on a "bedroom behaviour" playlist.
 
TYCSOL is cool, although this isn't a project that immediately marks Noelle as a sure-fire prospect. There's enough here to lead one to assume that she's aiming to be a part of that conversation an EP or two from now.
(Independent)

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