Tom Krell, who makes music under the name How to Dress Well, has had a strange career arc since he began releasing music in 2010. His debut album, Love Remains, was heavily influenced by 80s pop and R&B acts like Michael Jackson and Ready for the World, but was layered with so much fuzz and echo that it sounded like he was trying to record with his equipment wrapped in blankets. The album sounds ethereal, unstable, and hushed. But in spite of its uniqueness, it was one of the first albums to put R&B back into the minds of music critics. Less than two years after Love Remains, artists like Frank Ocean, Miguel, the Weeknd, and Autre Ne Veut had all released critically acclaimed albums with strong ties to R&B. But instead of mining the sub-genre he helped create for his sophomore release, Krell released Total Loss, a brittle, glacial album of synthetic singer-songwriter tracks that I believe improved on Love Remains in every way. And while it still had some of the hallmarks of an R&B album, most notably Krell’s fragile falsetto, you could tell he had started moving away from the sound.
Which brings us to “What Is This Heart?”, How to Dress Well’s third album which was released last week. Although he sings in a fuller voice that’s higher in the mix, this album has almost completely expunged all forms of traditional R&B. Instead, it blends soft rock, shimmery electro, and even folk with confessional and intimate lyrics to create a masterfully cohesive whole. Krell actually released a mixtape of songs which influenced him during the recording of “What Is This Heart?” and they ranged from the pop-folk of Tracy Chapman to the AutoTune warble of rapper Future to the early 00s emo of Taking Back Sunday. And surprisingly, you can see where all of these influences fit within the space of the album. The emo influence, accordingly, comes up in the lyrics, with Krell singing frankly about relationships, and most prominently, the dissatisfaction that can haunt you even even if nothing is wrong. From “Repeat Pleasure,” an early single from the album and song-of-the-year candidate: “But once you got it you want something else/Even if you’re holding out for something unchanging.” Thematically, this discussion is much closer to the ones bands like Taking Back Sunday and the Get Up Kids were having when emo had its moment than to the themes present in current R&B. This is an overgeneralization, obviously, but I think it’s a point that Krell is trying to stress. Take the ultra-personal lyrics of “Words I Don’t Remember,” which builds from a single synth chord that sounds like it could have been recorded underwater to a head replete with high-hats, handclaps, and an understated choir: “So what is trust but knowing when to let you have your silence baby / To let you have your peaceful private corners of your mind.” This line could fit perfectly on a Bright Eyes song, or a Bon Iver song, or most fittingly, a Tracy Chapman song. But instead it’s here, held up on a bed of queasy electro, signifying Krell’s need to move past one single genre.
Not the entire album is gloomy, however, with the second half of the album finding Krell lightening his lyrics. The song titles alone give some indication: “Childhood Faith In Love” and “Very Best Friend” stick closely to their titles’ themes, with the latter using a dance-y drum pulse and synth squiggle to emphasize Krell’s upbeat singing about friendship and devotion.
Elsewhere on the album, the music shifts subtly from theme to theme, all while maintaining a sense of cohesion through Krell’s voice and the low-end and negative space used in the production. Opener “2 Years On (Shame Dream)” uses only a sparsely plucked acoustic guitar to accompany Krell’s quavering tale about his brothers, both of whom are afflicted with Asperger’s. The massive bass of “Face Again” could almost pass as early dubstep complete with a pseudo-“drop” 50 seconds into the song. “Pour Cyril” uses a spare yet cinematic string arrangement to craft possibly the most cathartic song on the album.
With “What Is This Heart?”, How to Dress Well has crafted the most emotionally expansive and grandiose album of the year without any sort of lush orchestration or over-the-top vocal theatrics. Instead, he achieved this by casting his gaze past R&B and to any genre which caught his attention and expertly melding them into one effortlessly creative whole. “What Is This Heart?” isn’t demanding or aggressive, choosing instead to let the music seep into your life, but it is incredibly engrossing. There is no certain time that someone should listen to this album, as it has the unique ability to form itself into something relatable and enjoyable regardless of the situation. With “What Is This Heart?” Tom Krell has made a thrilling, personal look into his head that anyone should be able to thoroughly enjoy.
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