Total Loss

How to Dress Well is musician Tom Krell, one of a score of American artists making lo-fi bedroom pop. But his niche is particularly narrow, and it’s difficult to find another singer in the genre capable of setting the mood and hitting the notes that Krell has mastered. He grew up loving R&B, and he clearly learned a few things along the way; the ease with which he coaxes a note into silken bliss or coos atmospherics into a microphone is impressive. Total Loss is the Colorado native’s second full-length release, and those who were troubled by the hiss and grit of 2010’s Love Remains will be pleased to hear his new appreciation for cleaner, lighter production values. If you’re an indie pop fan who's unsure about R&B speaking to you, first give a listen to the slowly building, almost a cappella gem “& It Was You.” If Krell’s own backup harmonies and big, empty-room beats interlaced with crisp shakers and fingersnaps don’t pull you in, well, we might suggest a spiritual intervention. Total Loss feels well-named, with hollow piano loops, hazy strings, and sheets of echo coloring the collection with melancholy, while Krell’s voice alternately lifts and devastates.