Sasha Keable has long been propped up as the future of R&B. At first, she was seen as a dance-floor powerhouse – her breakthrough with Disclosure on ‘Voices’ marked her as a voice that could command a club in one note. Her first two EPs, 2013’s ‘Black Book’ and 2014’s ‘Lemongrass and Limeleaves’, were released to great fanfare.
After a three-year hiatus, she came back in 2024 bigger and badder than ever with ‘Hold Up’, showcasing her emotionally rich and unfiltered perspective on life and love that truly cemented her artistry. With Adele comparisons and a blessing from Beyoncé earlier this year, the British-Colombian star could easily have buckled under the pressure on her fifth EP, ‘Act Right’. Instead, Keable shrugs it off and delivers seven tracks that feel like the gold standard for modern R&B.
We’ve already tasted much of this feast. Singles like ‘Why’ and the titular track are conversational and gut-wrenching. The former is rooted in the purest and happiest form of love, yet there’s a pang of self-doubt in the mournful question: “Why is it me… you give all this love to?” It’s the sort of line that could have been penned by Aretha Franklin or Lauryn Hill when they redefined pain as power. ‘Act Right’ carries the raw frustration and emotional depth of Donny Hathaway, wrapped in the warm, confessional soul of Amy Winehouse. That emotive nuance is what makes this project such a stunning reintroduction to the world.
There are earworms at every turn, especially on the deeper cuts. The Leon Thomas-assisted ‘Move It Along’ wraps you in a warm sonic blanket with heavenly stacked ad-libs and a churchy, whining guitar, and when Keable’s opening guttural “Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeaaaah” hits, you soon realise you’ve just downloaded your newest vocal stim for the week.
‘Work’ – featuring Jamaican-born rapper BEAM – is a steamy slow-burner, too. The whiplash between Sasha’s silken croon and BEAM’s slackness might feel jarring at first, but listen closely. Hidden in her velvet phrasing, she’s a temptress, seductively commanding her lover to “lift up my skirt, grab my neck and say you care for nothing” – her sapphic desires a match for the rapper’s crassness.
The new cuts prove just as irresistible. ‘Can’t Stop’ finds Keable dropping into a just-between-us coolness, almost bragging about her toxic potential before roaring through the chorus about her addiction to the chaos. Her effortless runs beg to be mimicked (badly), while the post-chorus swirls with echoed, muffled layers that pull you deeper in.
That offhand delivery returns on ‘Heartbeat’, an infectious ode to the breathy middle ground between anger and affection. Here, Keable chops her phrasing into staccato bursts, turning her voice into percussion as well as melody – proof she is a clever professor, giving us lessons on how to do soul music correctly.
With ‘Act Right’, Sasha Keable doesn’t just make her return – she redefines the rules of R&B, reflecting on intimacy through bruised egos, seductive chaos and a lens that’s unapologetically her own. Each song feels lived-in, like a memory you’ve walked through in someone else’s skin. She stands among a new generation of UK R&B artists while making a distinct mark as a woman-loving woman exploring love and loss with honesty and heart.
Poised between lingering hurt and blossoming self-awareness, she paints in shadow and gold with artistry beyond her years. Keable doesn’t just act right – she owns that title, flamboyantly, poetically, and irrevocably. If this EP doesn’t confirm her as UK R&B’s heir to the throne, what will?
