There’s something gloriously unpretentious about Take To The Sky, the debut full-length from Hartlepool’s NEEB. It’s the sound of a band who’ve spent years in the musical trenches — gigging, tweaking, experimenting, and refusing to follow trends — finally bottling that lived-in groove they’ve been chasing since the acid jazz underworld of the late ‘90s. This isn’t the sterile, neo-soul wallpaper some playlists push; it’s a record that sweats, smirks, and slides through genres like a well-worn Fender through a valve amp.
The album kicks off with Take To The Sky, a track that feels like it’s been ripped straight from a smoky basement somewhere between Manchester and Camden — buttery Rhodes chords, a laid-back breakbeat, and Jasmine Weatherill’s voice floating like incense smoke above it all. Her tone is effortless but emotive. There’s a proper chemistry here between her phrasing and the rhythm section — clearly a product of that deep trust NEEB have built over years of jamming.
The Way I Do keeps the pulse steady, flirtier and more radio-friendly, with those old-school jazz flourishes that scream Sade meets 2025. It’s slick, but never plastic — the production breathes, giving room for the percussion (Martin Ditcham’s touch is unmistakable) to actually live rather than just tick time. Then comes Cave Of Hands , arguably the band’s creative heart. It’s moody, psychedelic, and beautifully similar to Fleetwood Mac— the bassline slinks around the mix like it’s trying to seduce you, while Weatherill’s vocals go from velvet to venom in a heartbeat.
By the time Visions rolls in with guitars bubbling underneath jazzy chord progressions and subtle drops that keep it fresh. All Caught Up pushes the neo-soul lean harder, and it’s a proper standout — the groove is infectious, the lyrics introspective without being self-pitying. You can almost hear the crowd sway. Taps foot.
Time Is Elastic does what it says on the tin — it stretches and folds, shifting tempo just enough to keep your ears guessing. The track proves NEEB’s knack for dynamics; they don’t just loop grooves, they build them. Wasted follows as the record’s introspective hangover, a more minimal arrangement that lets Weatherill’s vocal really breathe. She carries the melancholy like a veteran — poised but cracked at the edges.
And then there’s Brighter Day, closing the record with a shimmer of optimism. It’s smooth, warm, and full of little production easter eggs that reward a good pair of headphones. That final fade-out feels like sunlight creeping through club curtains after a night that actually meant something.
If there’s a criticism to be had, it’s that the record occasionally leans too comfortably into its influences. You can hear traces of early Fleetwood Mac, The Brand New Heavies, even the loungey side of Zero 7 — all great company, sure, but NEEB are at their best when they go off-script. When they let the imperfections breathe. A bit more dirt in the basslines, a touch more risk in the vocal phrasing, and they’d elevate from “polished” to “dangerous.”
Still, Take To The Sky is a stunning debut — one that feels both mature and hungry. It’s the sound of a band that’s finally found the missing piece of their puzzle in Jasmine Weatherill and decided to stop chasing scenes and just make bloody good music. The grooves hit, the production glows, and the spirit of acid jazz lives on — not as nostalgia, but as proof that soulful British music still knows how to move the body and the brain.
In a world drowning in algorithmic beige, NEEB have delivered something honest, organic, and quietly rebellious. It’s about time.
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