Jeremy Ellis Lotus Blooms

• Words: June Joseph
• Label: Ubiquity
• XLR8R Rating: /10

For his second opus, Lotus Bloom, singer/songwriter Jeremy Ellis mines a number of disparate genres to hone his sound-an amalgamation of nu-jazz, nu-soul, and Latin vibes as well as drawing on a raw musical sensibility derived from growing up in Detroit. The album possesses a songwriting virtuosity that‘s lacking in many mainstream soul albums; Ellis takes numerous creative risks, but is careful not to alienate the listener. As a result, Lotus Blooms isn‘t the self-indulgent music fest you‘d expect from the title. Instead, Ellis has released an album that is engaging, giving us some meat to sink our teeth into.