Music analysis: Cleo Sol releases new album ‘Gentlewoman’
Cleo Sol’s Gentlewoman brings together 15 tracks of soul, difficult family conversations, love, faith and knowing when to put yourself first.
Released on August 20, the album is the British singer-songwriter’s fifth solo record and her first since 2023’s Gold. Her husband and longtime collaborator Inflo returns as producer, continuing a partnership that has run through all five of her solo albums.
Ahead of the release, Sol spoke about finding strength in herself before extending that same care to her family.
“I can speak life into my family because I can speak life into myself, and God I thank you for that strength because I feel like you helped me to persevere,” she said.
Learning when to let go
“Finally, I’m looking out for me,” Sol sings on “I Only Look to You”, opening the album over piano as she works through forgiveness, healing and knowing when it is time to leave certain people and situations behind.
Family is present in the artwork too, with the Gentlewoman cover showing Sol at home holding a small child.
Motherhood has shaped her music before, particularly on 2021’s Mother, released the same year she welcomed her daughter.
“Family Ties” confronts dishonesty within a family relationship and the painful realisation that she cannot fix someone else’s problems for them.
“Look me in my eye and you lie / Then I call you out and you cry,” she sings.
Acoustic guitar carries “Honest Talk”, where Sol questions what she failed to recognise while accepting that another person’s choices are beyond her control.
“Let Me Cry” catches her exhausted, asking for the space to feel worn down without having to immediately make everything right.
“Gentlewoman, I hear you / We are making it through,” she sings on the title track, turning the album’s name into words of encouragement.
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Soul with room to breathe
Inflo keeps the record rooted in acoustic soul while bringing in a wider cast of musicians.
“Sweet Thing” builds from bass into harp, strings, drums and choir, while “Force of Love” carries a dancehall influence and “Sentimental Love” draws from bossa nova.
Quieter stretches of piano and guitar sit alongside percussion, horns, strings and backing vocals, without pushing Sol’s voice out of the spotlight.
Personally, I can see Gentlewoman going crazy on a rainy summer day when you have no plans to be social. You just want to make some tea, watch the raindrops hit your window and let Cleo Sol get you in your feelings.
Faith runs throughout the album, with Sol addressing God on “Imagine”, “Let Me Cry” and “Thank You”.
“All Because of Love” looks at having someone stay beside you when others disappear during difficult times.
Gentlewoman follows Sol’s appearance on SAULT’s Chapter 1 earlier this year. She remains famously private and rarely gives interviews, despite the growing audience around her solo music.
The press notes describe Gentlewoman as coming “from a place of honesty and finding strength through life and its challenges”.
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