Music Reviews

Staying on the positive tip here in the home stretch of Black History Month, soulful singer/rapper Aloe Blacc has released five tracks in Dolby Atmos ahead of the official February 28, 2025, release of his new, 12-song album from whence they came, Stand Together (Grand Scheme Productions). Two of them — “Don’t Go Alone” and “Breakthrough” — are prime examples of how Atmos can immersively enhance an artist’s inherent intent of positivity.

As per usual, I listened to these Atmos mixes through earbuds, headphones, and open-air speakers to see which way suited the music best for further critical 360-degree listening. I totally dug being thoroughly immersed through my AirPod Pros and ever-faithful floorstanding GoldenEar Technology Triton One loudspeakers, but my cool-vibes House of Marley Liberate XLBT headphones best fit Aloe Blacc’s life-enrichment bill.

First up is the anthemic “Don’t Go Alone,” which was initially released as the album’s lead single back in December 2024. Blacc describes the song as having been inspired by the African proverb, “If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together.” The track whooshes into existence as if summoned by engaging the “on” knob of a deeper power source, followed by five seconds of acoustic guitar before Blacc declares, “I ain’t no sinner / But I’ve sinned.” His vocal is loud and way outfront at the outset, with resonant rim taps and handclaps percolating across the soundstage just behind him, mostly buzzing and rotating through the virtual poles between the center left and center right.

Blacc likes to extend vowels in one-syllable words like “been” and “much,” and the level of clarity you get in Atmos lets you feel the intended honesty behind the message. The warbled, garbled, halted synth-stabs and low-end burble on the choruses give this track extra bounce, along with brief hard stops and pauses in the clouds. An inspiring solo—think of it akin to a Stevie Wonder-played harmonica as if being sent through a keyboard sampler that’s only just been submerged underwater—is a cheerful break before the second verse comes into play. Blacc’s emphatic “woah-oh”s in the back half of both the song and the mix are themselves heartfelt and uplifting, leading us into the layered vocal/choral refrain “Don’t let nobody, nobody / Don’t go alone” that fills all the channels.

The heavenly chorus is especially more poignant when the instrumentation drops out and that key phrase is repeated all around you like a 360-degree soul-hug. Produced by Oak Felder, “Don’t Go Alone” shows how to build such a positive-vibes track toward the kind of satisfying conclusion that’ll make you hit the rewind icon to hear it again (and again).

“Breakthrough,” which dropped just nine days ago on February 14, 2025, is another treatise for how to overcome life’s obstacles—and it is also conjoined with the same-named nonprofit organization that provides in-prison education and reentry support for justice-impacted individuals. “Breakthrough” (produced by DJ Khalil and Joel Van Dijk) opens with a gritty piano line, hard-hitting percussion, and in-your-face claps. You’ll also discern some hooting and hollering way back in the clouds before Blacc leaps to the forefront to intone, “Don’t tell me you ain’t never made no mistakes.” There’s a heavier tone to his approach here—it’s more deliberate and world-weary, deftly (and rightly) embodying the weightier subject matter. The percussive shuffle picks up steam (and volume) as Blacc continues toward the chorus—and it’s no accident that this instrumentation follows behind the line, “going down a one-way track.” The percussion then drops out as Blacc sings the title word, which echo-repeats three times and gets concurrently rewarded with a recurring chime ringing in the right quadrant.

The second verse is Blacc’s shot at expressing regret, redemption, and amends-making (and, as on the first, some ’90s-savvy listeners may project a bit of Everclear’s Art Alexakis into his approach). When the next chorus commences and the title word repeats anew, the percussion remains intact as the word lingers in the air, dissipating up in the ether. “How long will it take you?” Blacc asks semi-gently, extended the vowel in the middle to create the multi-syllabic “yuh-ooh.” Strings join the cloud parade on the bridge, and there’s a brief halt after the “down-down-down” section that helps carry the song to the final, layered “ooh” at the end of the title word, all of it nicely postscripted by a sustained piano riff to close the chapter.

Concerning “Breakthrough,” Blacc himself says the song is about “pushing through barriers, believing in second chances, and seeing the potential in yourself and others. We all have the capacity to change, to grow, and to contribute to something bigger than ourselves.” In these perpetually challenging times, it’s an Atmos-delivered message that immersively seeks to open our eyes (and ears) to striving for our own personal breakthroughs wherever we can find them. How long will it take you?

“Don’t Go Alone” and “Breakthrough” can both be listened to in Dolby Atmos here on Aloe Blacc’s Stand Together album page on Apple Music.