Metascore
81

Universal acclaim - based on 6 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 6
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 6
  3. Negative: 0 out of 6
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  1. Uncut
    Dec 8, 2023
    80
    Niño’s adventurous, meditative spirit is a worthwhile companion for Ntuli’s masterful piano and expressive voice, resulting in an album that is vivid and subdued in equal measure, the vitality of a battle cry rendered as a warm embrace. [Jan 2024, p.29]
  2. Mojo
    Nov 21, 2023
    80
    A brave, stand-alone release that lays her talent bare, it's a beautiful unreal entrancement you'll find hard to stop listening to again and again. [Dec 2023, p.91]
  3. Nov 21, 2023
    80
    This glorious, vulnerable set offers pure collaborative inspiration at once strident and vulnerable, minimal, and aesthetically expansive.
  4. Nov 21, 2023
    80
    It is a remarkably exposing record that showcases Ntuli’s mastery of her instruments. Opener Sunrise (In California) sets the tone, shifting through Robert Glasper-style chord progressions, while its counterpart Sunset (In California) taps into the plaintive phrasing crafted by the father of South African piano jazz, Abdullah Ibrahim.
  5. Nov 21, 2023
    78
    The music is spare, laser focused on those incandescent gospel melodies that feel like a Mzansi jazz birthright, and on ways to minimally ornament them for a broader, internationalist (Anthem and otherwise) audience. Such embellishment doesn’t obscure Ntuli’s expansiveness. It shows her power in a different light.
  6. The Wire
    Dec 1, 2023
    70
    Most tracks feature piano and vocals in a mix of essentialised South African stylings. A highlight is the simple, lilting hymn “Nomayoyo”, with Ntuli’s gentle, breathy vocals. “Lihlanzekile” is a quietly rolling piece of melancholia. [Dec 2023, p.58]

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