Anthony Hamilton is one of the leading lights of the neo-soul movement. And while it's easy to call his music retro given a vocal style that recalls
Bill Withers and a rootsy yet modern-sounding production aesthetic clearly indebted to
Stevie Wonder,
Hamilton is more a product of his own tireless vision than of any sort of old-school fetishism. Although
Hamilton tasted success a few times early in his career, he jumped from label to label and maintained a side career as a writer and backup singer. He's had a comfortable home with
Jermaine Dupri's So So Def label since 2003, yet 2007's
Southern Comfort proves that creating deep, organic soul has been the singer's M.O. since day one, as this album is, remarkably, his second collection of older, previously unreleased material. That his vaults are this stacked speaks volumes to
Hamilton's talent.