Miss Honey Brown Almond

India.Arie - Acoustic Soul / Voyage To India

The early 00s were such a fruitful time for R&B, pop, and hip-hop, but one genre that was blowing up was neo-soul. Artists like D’Angelo, Maxwell, and Eric Benet pioneered the style in the late 90s by taking modern R&B, soul, rock, jazz, and funk, among other styles, to make for a more progressive style of R&B and soul. It was popular for a brief time, but the style kind of died out towards the late 00s, especially when the heavyhitters of pop from the early 2010s that people remember (some of which are still very popular today). Even so, there are a lot of artists from that era that have stood the test of time, including the ones I mentioned. There are a few others, however, that are worth talking about, such as India.Arie. She came up in the early 00s, an her first two albums are the ones people mainly remember.

2001’s Acoustic Soul and 2002’s Voyage To India are the two albums people reminder and that won a lot of awards, especially the latter. I used to be super into neo-soul, especially around 2017 / 2018, but I stopped listening to it. I don’t know why, but I’ve wanted to get back into it, and it took the right time to get back into the genre. Well, I found a copy of her debut, Acoustic Soul, at Goodwill, of all places, and it was in great shape, so I grabbed it. Then I got a copy of her second album online, Voyage To India, because I liked her debut. I figured I’d review both of them at once, instead of reviewing them separately, because I feel very similarly about both albums. They both sound kind of similar, but there some subtle differences between the two.

I love both albums a lot, but there are a couple of slight issues I have with them that I want to point out. They don’t really prevent me from loving them, but they are issues I’ve noticed throughout listening to these. Before we talk about that, however, I want to talk about what I like, because there is a lot to enjoy. The main thing I love on these albums are her vocals; she has such a great voice, and she utilizes it well, but that kind of goes with her sound. The title of her debut is the best way to describe her sound — “acoustic soul.” I picture her music the kind that’s played in a coffee shop, but it’s acoustic and folksy soul / R&B.

Her second album, 2002’s Voyage To India, adds some more modern elements to her sound, but it’s still kind of the same sound that she was known for. The album won the Grammy for best R&B album, and the song “Little Things” won for best urban / alternative performance. Thankfully, this record isn’t as long, only around 48 minutes, but it still feels kind of long, only because this sound doesn’t lend itself to being super catchy and energetic. Her sound is very laid back, quiet, and spiritual, versus being loud, catchy, and high energy. A few songs have a good vibe, such as “Little Things” and “Talk To Her,” but the album is more or less a soulful affair. If you want something with more energy and direct catchiness, you won’t get it, but it’s an album that relies more on mood and overall vibe than hooks.