Blood Orange - Cupid Deluxe

I remember seeing Dev Hynes during one of his stints as the project Lightspeed Champion on an episode of Never Mind the Buzzcocks and just writing him off as one of those weirdly-dressed electrohipsters that now constitute about 50% of new music I listen to. Whilst at the time they were competing to stand out above the wave of indie-rock that dominated the charts (this same TV series had appearances from The Hoosiers, Pigeon Detectives, Reverend and the Makers, the Cribs, Scouting for Girls, Foals... they were dark times, okay?) they now command total attention and - as well as making everyone fall in love with their own releases - seem to write the hits (well, not actual hits, but excellent pop songs no less) for everyone else.

Hynes, gearing up for this second Blood Orange release, penned Sky Ferreira's Everything is Embarrassing, Solange's Losing You (a matter disputed by Solange, who appears to have gone to her sister's class of Taking Credit Where It's Undue) and Mutya Keisha Siobhan's Flatline. None may have made waves in the singles charts either here or in the U.S., but they're signs of the pop world adapting to a much better sound than the OTT house crap that's been dominating since 2006. Cupid Deluxe takes Hynes' excellent craftsmanship and plonks him right in the middle of the 80s, with more than a little wink and a nod to the work of Prince. There's even a song with the letter U in the title.

Marimbas, shuffling drums and the breathy drama of Chairlift singer Caroline Polachek make opener and first single 'Chamakay' an instant ear-opener, a curious track that's neither romantic nor heartbreaking ("I see you waiting for a guy like me to come along/ baby girl you're wrong") but towards the end a dodgy bit of saxophone tips the track over into unnecessary cheese. Current partner and vocalist of Brooklyn band Friends Samantha Urbani lends a hand to the wonderfully chilled 'You're Not Good Enough', set in a rowdy bar as he plays pool and observes an ex across the room, and goes on to feature on the majority of other tracks. Not 'Uncle ACE', though, named in honour of the Queens-Manhattan subway famed for housing many homeless LGBT teenagers - a rattling percussion and funky, very Nile Rodgers guitar are all the attractions here. They more than suffice, though, and it serves as the litmus test for the rest of the album's intoxicating groove.

The year's love for fancy, delicate guitarwork finds much of Cupid Deluxe tying into 2013's trends (HAIM, Daft Punk, The Weeknd) finely; 'No Right Thing' is bouncy and uses Dirty Projectors frontman David Longstreth's piercing voice in a strange, awkward trio with Urbani and Hynes. A breathlessness and definite summer touch to 'It Is What It Is' reminds me of last year's Losing You, therefore certifying it as one of my favourite songs of the year. Gorgeous basslines and elements of chillwave pretty much make the album for me, as on the cover of Mansun's I Can Only Disappoint U, renamed 'Always Let U Down', and thrown in chunks of romantic anguish (the uncertain 'On the Line', the effortlessly sexy closer 'Time Will Tell') the whole project is a promising, fresh new twist on its Prince influences.

The only moment where I could feasibly nod off listening to this is during the unnecessarily long 'Chosen', with its rather pointless saxophone-wailing intro and kitsch French-accented storytelling. Others have reacted to the album's two spots from rappers with indifference or disdain; Despot's appearance on 'Clipped On' has a pretty classic feel to it that I can't see much of a problem with (although, admittedly, it's not a favourite), whereas fellow Briton Skepta's turn on 'High Street' (coincidentally both of these are by far the shortest tracks) is an engaging, interesting collaboration.

Yes. Yes to all of this.

Rating: 8/10
Highlights: It Is What It Is; On the Line; You're Not Good Enough; Always Let U Down; Time Will Tell
Avoid: n/a

Artwork Watch: Looks curiously like my GTA avatar.
Up next: Eliza Doolittle