Leon Thomas
began a smooth transition from showbiz kid to all-around musical threat in the early 2010s. Among his first steps were a mixtape for
Rostrum Records
and a clutch of songs placed on
Yours Truly
, the chart-topping debut by fellow Victorious star
Ariana Grande
.
Thomas
would clock more studio time with
Grande
and subsequently had a hand in
Toni Braxton
and mentor
Babyface
's "I'd Rather Be Broke,"
Rick Ross
and
Drake
's Grammy-nominated "Gold Roses," and
Ella Mai
's platinum "Not Another Love Song," followed by Top Ten pop hits with
's "In the Bible" and "Love All," and
SZA
's multi-platinum "Snooze." During the rise,
signed a solo deal with
Ty Dolla $ign
's
Motown
-affiliated
EZMNY
label, where he makes his proper album debut with
Electric Dusk
. Whereas
' previous solo recordings went in many directions, this highly distilled set rarely deviates from narcotized progressive R&B in soft focus. Most of these songs don't merely sound spaced. When
remarks "Don't know how I got with you" in the chorus of the swirling opener "Slow Down," it seems likely that he's speaking to his lack of memory rather than his modesty. Then again, it's the woman he's singing about whose faculties seem most compromised with pills, mushrooms, and champagne, and the situations in bleary, stretched-out hip-hop soul tracks like "X-Rated" and "Socialite" are likewise observational with
' subjects more indulgent than himself.
Ty
joins in with his raspy hook-master take on the same perspective in the woozy and alluring "Love Jones." Further evidence that
has been hanging with
follows in the prancing home-wrecker slow jam "Sneak," by no small measure
' raunchiest creation yet. The setting is in the afternoon but must be in a boudoir with blackout curtains. He can also dispense with the narratives and drop the Lothario persona to sing his heart out, as he does on "Breaking Point," a prime slice of bluesy soul that takes hold with "Slow dancin' in this burning house" and doesn't let up until fade-out.
, no apparent relation to the vanguard jazz singer of the same name, emerges here as a complete artist -- somewhere between
BJ the Chicago Kid
Frank Ocean
, yet very much in his own lane. ~ Andy Kellman