To me very reminiscent of his “Love What Happened Here” EP from 2011 (hip-hop samples, R&B textures, slightly dubby construction, mellow and spacey but propulsive, released just in time for the holidays). Great stuff, firmly in weird electronic mode (as opposed to weird electronic singer/songwriter mode).

RIYL: james blake, mount kimbie, pariah, airhead, hip-hop and R&B inflected electronic music in general

1. watery 80s/90s R&B keys, beat kicks in around :30, a steady 4/4 pulse, but it frequently gets breaky or drops out for a bit. more dramatic synth accents enter around the middle and give it a bit more drive. some great looped southern hip-hop vocal samples (andre3000’s guest spot on devin’s “what a job”, gangsta boo on “late nite tip”). kind of feels like the entirety of the “love what happened here” EP rolled into one song. also, i think this is the most fun/playful thing he’s ever written (maybe by a wide margin). 6:13
2. opens with glitchy found sound loop, then tense beat kicks in at :45, kind of 4/4, but kind of jumpy. steam hiss and echoed vocal snippets just after 1:00. dramatic video game sounds and bass enter around 1:45 and the whole thing takes on more of a slow rolling swagger. gets its push back at points throughout the rest. shades of CMYK EP. 4:51
3. mellow low-fi keys and pitched up vocals. pulsing skipping beat with occasional tasteful bass blurts. ticking breakdown with bass sweeps starts around 1:15. nice chopped and looped keys w/ 90s east coast hip-hop feel in second half. subdued, but purposeful. 4:25
4. gentle treated piano and spoken word vocals. 1:03

recommended: 1, any