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“Stoner R&B” is not an insult: It’s the opposite, a loose term to describe a sprawling genre of music that includes everything from Dijon and Frank Ocean to Brent Faiyaz and Jhene Aiko. It’s R&B that has smoked a strong
blunt, with languid grooves, heavy bass, psychedelicized production and an unhurried vocal approach. Unlike the tight rhythms, choppy guitars and urgency of traditional R&B, it’s not in a hurry to get anywhere.
When Nick Hakim first emerged in 2014 with his “Where Will We Go” EPs and subsequent albums, he was a bright new voice in the genre, but as the years went by, his music sailed further and further out until, by 2022’s “Cometa,” conventional song structures had pretty much drifted off.
But his fourth and latest album, “I Can See,” is his most focused work to date — and despite the unhurried tempos and smoky vibes, it’s a very seriously structured set of songs, with multiple layers of his soft, soulful vocals and shimmering keyboards. “Real Here Now” is one of the most gorgeous R&B songs you’ll hear all year and is almost like an Usher song from a parallel universe, but as always his music has a crossover appeal that defies pigeonholing: The following song, “U Can Make It,” is a densely layered track built around a thudding electronic bass drum, echo-drenched piano and layers and layers of vocals.
The unusually hazy sound of this album is as vital as the songs — the vocals and instruments waft in and out of the mix like music from a passing car or sounds from the apartment next door; you’re not always sure exactly what you’re hearing, not that it matters. Equal parts electronic and organic, it pairs conventional snare and rimshot sounds with heavy digital bass, piano so heavily treated that it sounds like a warped calliope, and backing vocals that float in and out like a chorus of ghosts.
After the more-conventionally structured songs of the album’s first half, the last few continue “Cometa”’s journey toward the cosmos, growing murkier and piling on effects reminiscent of dub reggae. Indeed, “I Can See” is a realm beyond alternative R&B — it’s more like R&B from a different planet.
