Gabriel GarzónMontano
★★★★ Agüita JAGJAGUWAR/STONES THROW. CD/DL/LP First generation American expands R&B-slanted world following 2017’s Jardin. Garzón-Montano opened for Lenny Kravitz in 2014 and a vocal hook from his first EP was later sampled by Drake, but such signposts mislead. On his second album, the Brooklyn-raised French Colombian resembles the spawn of Prince and Frank Ocean, smitten by Thom Yorke, cumbia, reggaeton and Tropicália – though Garzón-Montano seems most interested in the sensual, mesmeric aspects of those sounds. In other words, Agüita (“little water” in Spanish) isn’t aimed at pop stardom, but at laying down a more personal marker. It’s not playlist-friendly either, with the occasional jarring transition, such as Fields’ lovelorn agony into Mira My Look’s sassy charge. But GarzónMontano’s aching vocal oversees a spellbinding flow and, like Prince, he’s a multi-instrumental, self-sufficient act able to emulate Frank Ocean’s current level of acclaim. Martin Aston