What Is This Heart?

A big, genre-smashing, soulful tour de force of a third album from R&B envelope pusher and angelic singer Tom Krell—a reach toward the kind of elaborate, epic pop releases major labels used to put out more often when they were rolling in the ca$h. As far as high-profile independent pop releases in 2014 go, this is an exemplar of ambition. It’s ultra-personal and nakedly emotional and literate and self-aware, and pulls in-vogue musical styles (here, R&B and hazy electronica) into a variety of new, Technicolor directions. And it’s pretty lovely. Favorites: 2, 6, 7. FCC WARNING: 3, 9.

1. (3:50)—Slow, soothing, with minimal piano and plucked guitar.
2. *(5:28)—Smooth, begins softly, then evolves into more conventional R&B. Perfectly placed sax sample.
3. (4:29)—FCC WARNING (s***). Slow, murky, ghostly trunk-rattler.
4. (3:17)—Slow, soft, twinkling. A beat enters in the last 40 seconds.
5. (3:36)—Mid-tempo. The single. Bright, tight, funky, idyllic.
6. *(6:18)—Slow, chiaroscuro, humid. Starts as minimal R&B, then mutates into a spellbinding cascade of synths and wordless vocals.
7. *(4:12)—Starts a cappella, jumps to a freaking beautiful neoclassical section. Cuts off, slowly turns epic again.
8. (4:05)—Mid-tempo, sexy, washed out, optimistic, with another bass-heavy beat.
9. (3:47)—FCC WARNING (f***). Medium-slow, urgent, busy.
10. (5:00)—Mid-tempo, four-on-the-floor, sparkling, with a softer middle.
11. (4:54)—Mid-tempo, a little glitchy, very poppy. Touching love song: “you will always be my very best friend.” Spoken word outro.
12. (6:06)—Slow, plodding. Strummed acoustic guitar, then an explosion of electronics.