Secret Night Gang are a group from Manchester, started in 2018 by Callum Connell and Kemani Anderson. They released their debut self-titled album in 2021 on Brownswood Recordings. Now they have returned with their brand new full-length album, Belongs on a Place Called Earth.

With Kemani Anderson on vocals and Callum Connell handling multiple instruments, the two have rounded out the group into a full band, but it’s their project and their songwriting and producing and arranging that is going to make or break the group. The excellent news here is that these two are really starting to come into their own on this album, and all aspects of the music are getting better. The band is tighter, the songwriting is getting even stronger, and they are finding even more of a sweet spot to bring all of their different influences together and make it their own. Over the course of this album, we could paint in broad strokes and just call it neo-soul and be done with it, but what’s fascinating to me is the way that Secret Night Gang sometimes leans in this early ‘80s smooth jazz/R&B direction, drawing upon influences like Hotter Than July-era Stevie Wonder or Breakin’ Away-era Al Jarreau, but then other times leans in this Soulquarians-direction, specifically Badu/Dilla, direction. Add on top of that a heavy love of jazz and funk grooves, and you’ve got a really smooth and warm album that you can really groove to and get lost in. As a lyricist, I will say that Anderson walks that line between speaking to social issues of the day and becoming a little preachy, but he never really crosses over into that territory where it becomes too cheesy. It’s a harder skill that a lot of people realize, and hopefully Anderson will keep at it and continue to find that sweet spot where the message can really resonate without going over the top.

Belongs on a Place Called Earth is a great step forward for Secret Night Gang. They’ve really come together as a band and become tighter with their grooves, and they’ve learned how to bring a lot of their influences together in a way that’s unique unto them. There’s still room for them to keep growing, but they’ve already taken some remarkable strides with this album.