Eric Roberson is a new soul stalwart and The Vault was his belated introduction to most of the listening public, even though he began recording and relentless touring the previous decade. The album includes all the Roberson motifs with which, later in the decade, his growing and cultish fan base would identify: the hip-hop-influenced rhythms and vocal cadence, the Roberson-esque melodic arrangements, and his personal take on romance that always seemed to toggle between flowery and melancholy. Aside from it being the debut of one of the new millennium’s venerated soul artists, The Vault is home to three of what could be called Roberson standards (“Couldn’t Hear Me,” “Please Don’t Leave Me,” and “Change for Me”). – Vincent Thomas