While the age of slow-winding R&B during has slowed to a crawl, recent artists like Kehlani, Ty Dolla $ign and PartyNextDoor have kept alive the tradition of impassioned grooves from the likes of Maxwell and R. Kelly that elicit feelings of atmospheric fervor. Enter Elhae, the 22-year-old North Dakota native who has steadily been building his discography over the last 3 years. Having relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, Elhae (which stands for “Every Life Has An Ending”) released Aura II, a sequel to 2015’s Aura, on April 14, 2017.

Almost entirely sung (apart from the intro, “Admit It” “Race” and “Circa 09′”), Elhae creeps towards the drum-machine driven rhythms of late, but avoids total sonic similarity with his contemporaries, due in part to his breathy vocals and timeless delivery. That said, the familiar, melismatic performances, plodding instrumentals and occasional jump into falsetto are a savory contribution to the R&B landscape that has seen a dearth of AAA acts entirely committed to the luscious arrangements of yesteryear. Across the 10 tracks running a hair over a half-hour, Elhae takes listeners on a tour of his expression of love and aspirations of artistic recognition.

Notable Tracks: “Admit It (Intro)” (with a sweet sample of Ty Dolla $ign’s “No Justice”), “Bang Your Line” (feat. Ty Dolla $ign) and “Blue” (Interlude).

Stream the project below via Spotify or purchase it on Apple Music.