The Vault Vol. 1.5

A polished and expanded version of the album previously released as The Vault Vol. 1, The Vault Vol. 1.5 is an astonishingly well-crafted collection, especially considering that Eric Roberson operates outside of the mainstream record industry. Roberson’s music has the harmonic texture of jazz, the low-end insistence of hip-hop, and the expansive emotional pitch of vintage soul music. One of this album’s pleasures is hearing the way Roberson layers his vocals on tracks like “Please Don’t Leave Me,” “Def Ears," and “Obstacles.” There are times when his voice appears to hover and sail over the songs, like a cluster of birds over a shoreline. Roberson never makes a conscious attempt to sound “vintage,” but songs like “Lil Money,” “Past Paradise," and “Find the Way” echo the skittering tempos and soft poignancy of Curtis Mayfield’s Superfly soundtrack. One mark of Roberson’s confidence is his willingness to leave open space in his songs. Where most other artists would fill up “She Ought to Know,” Roberson understands that the song draws its emotional and sexual tension from the gaps he leaves between the beats.