''AIIR'' is a studio EP by the British R&B collective Sault, a sequel to their sixth album, ''

AIR An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

'' (2022). The EP was one of five simultaneous digital releases for free on 1 November 2022 (along with '' 11'', ''

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

'', '' Today & Tomorrow'', and '' Untitled (God)''). Four of the five (excluding ''Untitled (God)'') were released on streaming music services on 12 November. The download was available for only five days via a password-encrypted link and made as an offering to God.

Critical reception

Writing for ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a British daily broadsheet conservative newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed in the United Kingdom and internationally. It was found ...

'', Ali Shutler reviewed all five simultaneous releases by Sault and gave them a collective four out of five stars, noting that ''AIIR'' follows from the earlier ''

Air An atmosphere () is a layer of gases that envelop an astronomical object, held in place by the gravity of the object. A planet retains an atmosphere when the gravity is great and the temperature of the atmosphere is low. A stellar atmosph ...

'' that "conjures anxiety and paranoia through orchestral soundscapes". In an overview of the best music of the week on ''

All Songs Considered ''All Songs Considered'' is a weekly online podcast and radio program hosted by Robin Hilton. It was created in January 2000 by NPR's ''All Things Considered'' then-director Bob Boilen and produced by Robin Hilton beginning in 2001. At first, ...

'',

NPR National Public Radio (NPR) is an American public broadcasting organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It serves as a national Radio syndication, syndicator to a network of more ...

considers the five releases "as sonically diverse as they are ambitious in their breadth and scale". Damien Morris of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' reviewed all five albums and scored them five stars, noting that "anyone can find their own five-star classic among these 56 songs" and summing up that "it's clear that these albums are an act of supreme generosity, not indulgent superfluity". Writing for ''

Gigwise ''Gigwise'' is a British online music news site featuring music news, photos, album reviews, music festivals, concert tickets and video content. Founded in June 2001, the site is based in London, England. History Gigwise was launched in 2001 in ...

'', Luke Winstanley called the collective releases "an absurd achievement" and scored this album eight out of 10, calling it "another sumptuous classical effort [following ''

''], essentially functioning as a sequel or companion piece [that] presents a more focused, leaner and less indulgent collection than its predecessor".

Track listing

#"4am" – 4:48 #"Hiding Moon" – 4:09 #"Still Waters" – 5:20 #"Gods Will" – 5:12 #"5am" – 5:58

References

External links

* *
Brief overview of the five albums
from

KEXP KEXP-FM (90.3 FM broadcasting, FM) is a non-commercial Radio broadcasting, radio station in Seattle, Seattle, Washington, United States, specializing in indie music programmed by its disc jockeys. KEXP's studios are located at the Seattle Cent ...

{{Authority control 2022 albums Albums produced by Inflo Sault (band) albums Self-released albums Albums free for download by copyright owner Classical albums by English artists