Debut albums are imperfect by nature. For most artists, the first album release is them announcing their arrival to the game, with raw talent often overpowering any lyrical prowess or top tier production.
But that’s not the case with Leon Thomas’ debut album, Electric Dust, in which the 30 year old phenom drops a masterful R&B album full of glossy, layered production, mature, evocative songwriting and an impressive vocal performance.
After writing and producing songs for some of the biggest names in music — including Ariana Grande, Post Malone, and Drake — it was about time for a debut album from Thomas. He’s no stranger to the music industry or the process of creating songs, and it shows. This debut is not a young talent trying to prove himself, it’s a mature, seasoned artist with years of experience creating a record that is uniquely him.
Thomas establishes the tone of dynamic and sleek production early, with opening track “Slow Down” including echoing vocals atop a smooth trap-R&B beat. The second track, “X-Rated,” immediately follows up with a dark, grittier drum beat perfectly suitable for Thomas’ brooding lyrics: “X-rated on her tongue, watch it dissolve / X-rated girl, if these walls could talk.”
Two tracks in, and we’ve gotten a trap-R&B opener and an old-school rap type beat. Two tracks in, and we’ve already seen quite a bit of range. Then you hear the third track, and you realize this album is not your typical R&B release.
“Blue Hundreds,” the third track, might be the best song on the album, though on paper, it’s a tough argument. The lyrics are simple, with boastful, playful musings on blue hundreds, or new one hundred dollar bills: “I got old money, so the night is young / blue hundreds, I got blue hundreds.” The beauty in this song is in the instrumental, with a haunting echo giving way to a strong repetitive drum, bass-backed vibe that feels like it would fit nicely on a Kids See Ghost project. Listening to “Blue Hundreds” feels like a quick adrenaline boost before going out for a night, and provides a refreshing break from the slower paced songs around it.
On the next two songs, “Love Jones” and “Sneak,” we get two more typical R&B tracks, with Ty Dolla $ign contributing an intoxicating verse on the former, and themes of messy relationships coming through on both: “know your man got off at nine / girl let’s hurry up and make this right.”
Multiple tracks feel like homages to at least one artist, but Thomas has a standout ability to go the extra mile to make each track uniquely his, and his alone. Throughout the record, you feel influences ranging from Frank Ocean (see “Crash and Burn”) to Kid Cudi (see “Blue Hundreds”) to Daniel Caeser (see “My Will”).
The next two tracks, “My Will” and “Breaking Point,” are two prime examples of this, with “Breaking Point” feeling like a song that was meant to be an extra cut on Frank Ocean’s Channel Orange, with dynamic, warm production and switch-ups between high pitched choruses and smoothly-sung verses. Similarly, “My Will” feels like a song that was cut from Daniel Caeser’s Freudian, with slow, stripped down instrumentals leaving plenty of space for heavy, wide-ranged vocals.
After “Crash and Burn,” another Frank Ocean-esque song (even with lyrics that feel like they’ve been written for Ocean: “same old shit, different handbag / I might get high off the 405”) Thomas returns to his own original sound for the final few tracks of the record, marked by high-pitched, wavey vocals chopped up between impressive singing displays.
Thomas’ songwriting abilities are on full display throughout the album, with few, if any, throwaway lines throughout the 40 minute record. Most of the songs focus on usual R&B themes (relationships, self empowerment, hopefulness), but Thomas brings a high level of maturity and experience to the table, and it shows. As he says on “My Will”: “Imma keep it short, no I won’t take too long / my lawyers kind of shitty, so I’ll write it in a song.” Thomas repeatedly puts in the effort to bring his lyrics to another level — a step often skipped by other notable R&B artists — and we appreciate him for it.
On “Fade to Black” and “Socialite,” two of the last few tracks, Thomas brings back the gritty, hip hop instrumentals, and it works perfectly, as he warps his flow and chops his style up to match the dark tone of the songs. On both tracks, Thomas’ vocal range shines through, as he effortlessly switches between low croons and high, buttery vocals delivered as smooth as possible.
Though Thomas’ lyrics stand out on their own, the album sticks out as one of the smoothest, most instrumentally-varied R&B records of the year — perhaps second only to Masego’s self-titled album earlier this year. Thomas is able to manipulate his voice and style to exactly fit the instrumental, whether it’s a dark percussive beat or a silky smooth R&B melody.
It’s hard to point out just one strong point on Electric Dusk. Through every song, the lyrics, production, vocal arrangements and features are all carefully put together to create an astoundingly modern, sleek R&B record. Leon Thomas has been at the top of his game for a few years, but as far as a debut album goes, it doesn’t get much better than this, and you get the feeling, listening to the sly confidence on full display throughout the record, that Thomas knows it, and he enjoys every minute of it.
The Stumptown Groove 