Omar, author of the immortal soul classic, "There's Nothing Like This" is an oft-overlooked name in the history of UK street soul. This is primarily due to the overshadowing of our own fine tradition by stateside R&B, but also because Omar himself has failed to deliver punchy enough albums of late. That's all about to change now however, with his fifth and undoubtedly best long player. Right from the bouncy soul-funk of "I Guess"', it's obvious that this is not going to be another middle-of-the-road affair. "Something Real" takes on some two-step flavour but fills the skippy sonics with lush instrumentation, showing how it could--and should--be done. "Essensual" admittedly dives off into some quirky jazz & bossa territory but Omar soon bounces back on form with a wonderful cover of Vaughan Williams' classic "Be Thankful", a duet with one Erykah Badu. Elsewhere he continues to cook his own, flavoursome brand of jazz, funk, soul and even loungecore bossa, and covers all with his wonderfully versatile vocals. By backing-up his singing with stronger production values, Omar has finally proved beyond a doubt that he is one of our nation's true soul gems. --Paul Sullivan