Jain – Souldier

What made that album, and in turn this follow-up, was the diverse palette of influences at Jain’s hand. She grew up in Toulouse, Abu Dhabi, The Republic of Congo and Paris – and, in stunning fashion, the pull of these environments gradually reveal themselves throughout ouldier’. Lead single lright’ flits between infectious optimism (“Everything’s going to be just right / If love is around”) and gritty drum’n’bass with an Afrobeat flair. ream’, meanwhile, is stripped-back Euro-tinged pop that’s hinged on Jain’s piercing vocals. There are fun and games to be had in places, but some of the most pertinent moments are its quietest. Take the title track ouldier’, which was penned in the wake of the Pulse nightclub shooting in Orlando in 2016, a horrific attack on the LGBTQ+ community that reverberated around the world. In it, Jain implores the world to show love and unity in the face of sheer terror: “And we must now keep in our minds that love is always right / Yeah, we must now keep in our minds that love is a power we have”. Fortune favours the ones with love in their hearts, and Jain’s ouldier’ shows bagfuls.