How to Dress Well: Total Loss
Acephale
Pop maverick Tom Krell is a kid out of his time: He’s so gaga for the year 1997 that R&B cult fave Keith Sweat is an apparent favorite. While Sweat dug leather and Ray-Bans, Krell is too lo-fi to cope with Total Loss via retail therapy. Picking up where 2010’s austere Love Remains left off, Total Loss lets silence linger longer than most would think natural. “& It Was U” is the sound of a golem fighting vitamin D deprivation, and “Cold Nites” hangs like fog on the morning commute. In general, Total Loss is so heartbroken that it teeters on emotional pretzel-ism (word to Sweat’s “Twisted”), going not for the jugular, but the hairs on the back of your neck. (5 out of 5 stars)