Araless is an emcee from Seattle, who along with his solo material has worked with groups like Filthy Fingers United and Black Magic Noize. In December of 2016, he released the politically charged solo EP, Proletariat Rock. Now, does an about face and comes back with an entirely different EP, Something About You: Spring.

How different is this EP from his last? I had to double check the name on the EP to make sure I had the right person and it wasn’t somebody with a similar name. If you listened to Proletariat Rock or other earlier material, you heard some aggressive, self-produced political hip hop that reminded me of Sole. Now, about a year-and-a-half later, Araless decided to go a much different route, teaming up with producer OK to make some incredibly smooth and soulful R&B. While he may have hinted here and there in his previous releases that he can sing, this is surely the first time in his career where he’d really be considered a straight up R&B singer. And here’s the thing – he’s really good. He’s got a great clear tone to his voice, a real knack for melody, and an ear for some lyrics that perfectly walk the line between sexy and classy. This works very well with OK’s production, which brings this smooth, modern update to the West Coast R&B of the ‘80s, not unlike what guys like B.Bravo and Hot 16 are doing. The result is an EP that may be short, but it delivers on some great pop-friendly, romantic R&B that will sound great on date nights this summer.

It’s funny, because if you’ve never heard Araless before, you might just think that this guy has been doing this his entire career, it sounds so good and natural. If you have spent some time with his music, it might require you to take a step back for a moment, but ultimately, you’ll come around. This EP is to good to ignore.