Even before we’d selected her as our February 2018 Artist of the Month, we had all reached the same verdict for native Austinite Mélat; she’s young but sounds like she’s been doing this for decades, knows how to swoon in her songwriting, and always gives us just enough to leave us wanted more. Mélat’s unrivaled presence in the soul-R&B realm is an astonishing spectacle to behold live and translates into an even more powerful experience on studio recordings, where her captivating voice snuggles right up to your ear drum.

After dropping a couple singles in 2020, Mélat’s been plugging away at a new LP, tracked and mixed at Black Pumas’ Texas headquarters, Electric Deluxe Recorders. She’s got a tour in the works for next year to promote the aforementioned album, whose lead single channels the spiritual soul of gospel in a waltzing heart-melter, “The Lesson”.