Jason Grier - Clouds (2013)

Highly accomplished debut mini-album of cosmic baroque chamber soul by Jason Grier, starring his pals Julia Holter and Lucrecia Dalt. Making reference to everyone from Jodeci and Terry Riley to medieval composers Petrus de Cruce and Josquin des Prez, his 'Clouds' cycle of eight songs feels exquisitely arranged and impeccably executed, deconstructing contemporary R&B tropes thru a classically-informed ear-filter to yield mouth-watering treats such as the exotic R&B pastoralism of 'Karma' with Ms. Holter, plus Hot Chip-like electro-pop boogie with an oriental twist on 'The Rules'. Very sweet stuff.