Album Review
'Aromanticism': Moses Sumney's album is a melancholic masterpiece
Every now and then an album comes along that's dangerous to listen to at night. The combination of notes drifting like organza in a breeze and the moody loneliness of a midnight blue sky can give birth to a mix of emotion better not conceived. Moses Sumney's latest album Aromanticism is one of those albums.
It would be easy to label this an R&B album. It's down-tempo, melancholic and sung by a black guy. R&B is also in the midst of something of an evolution, so its boundaries are currently fluid. But this is not an R&B album in the traditional sense. Drawing influences from jazz and ambient sounds a la Sigur Rós and artsy R&B, Aromanticism feels and sounds more like sexy post-rock.
The high-pitched timbre of Sumney's voice also adds a lustrous fragility to the songs that imbues the project with a heartfelt earnestness that's rare in mainstream music.
Then again, this isn't a mainstream album. You will not hear it getting constant airplay on your favourite radio station. The friends who recommend it to you will be the ones who scoff at mainstream sounds and who listen to obscure artists that only three people in your circle have heard of.
WATCH the video for Moses Sumney's Doomed
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Generally their recommendations should be taken with a pinch of salt. They're the musical equivalent of foodies who are smug because they eat exotic things like sea urchin, scoffing at those who just want a nice burger. But in this case the snobs are on to something.
Aromanticism is a delicately crafted piece of emotional cinema, as close as you're going to get to a sure-fire panty dropper this summer.
• 'Aromanticism' is on all streaming services.
• This article was originally published in The Times.