This Is Our Jam: Autre Ne Veut, “Counting”

Coming on the scene a few years ago with a crop of similarly minded experimental R&B artists, Brooklyn's Autre Ne Veut (a.k.a. Arthur Ashin) mixes fine-grained pop and lo-fi production with hyper-emotional lyrics. His new album Anxiety was inspired by years of psychoanalysis to treat his depression, which might recall How to Dress Well's recent melancholy-saturated new record Total Loss. While there are certainly similarities between the two artists (they've even toured together), Autre Ne Veut seems more interested in big choruses and traditional R&B structure than his contemporary's maudlin experimentalism.

With "Counting," Autre Ne Veut enters the world of full-blown pop, even as he maintains his typically morose themes. (He told a Pitchfork writer that the song is about the death of his grandmother.) "I'm counting on the idea that you'll stay," he sings, behind production that nods to Timbaland's work with Justin Timberlake. For a bedroom artist with stripped-down sensibilities, "Counting" is an unusually high-definition affair. Look for Anxiety February 12 via Brooklyn imprint Software.

Autre Ne Veut — Anxiety "Counting"