Under the R&B sea

Ambient R&B and lo-fi hipstamatic Tom Krell of How To Dress Well has released the first track from his sophomore effort, “Total Loss,” set to come out later this year.

“The Ocean Floor for Everything,” like much of Krell’s work, is a down-tempo swelling of happy heartbreak, and for some reason the ocean metaphor is one that fits the work of How to Dress Well so... well. The steady roll of the keyboard, the echoing croon of Krell, the hush of his tracks that resonates like the wind from a conch shell.

Krell is a master at what he does, single-handedly commandeering an orchestrated tiny-masterpiece. How To Dress Well, even in concert, functions at the level of a tiny colossus. Though over-chill and seemingly simple, “Ocean Floor” works overtime through its minimalism.

How To Dress Well bestows on us, truly, a sea of sound, and Krell’s got our ears itching for the next record.

By Francisco Tirado