Related: The Best Songs of 2014 (So Far)
Related: The Best Albums of 2014 (So Far)
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2. Kwabs - "Pray For Love"
The word R&B has shifted meaning so many times that the meaning has almost been lost. Even through the contemporary R&B phase, vocals have always been an important and defining element. With a lot of the experimental/alternative R&B coming out recently, vocals seem to be slightly less important. We hear a lot of strong production with light, falsetto singing weaved in. Not with Kwabs. The London singer's voice is a force, and his latest Plan B-produced track is a pounding, explosive tune. Read our interview with Kwabs here.
3. Shlohmo & Jeremih - "No More"
Not that long ago Jeremih was pursuing the R&B/pop route with songs like "Birthday Sex," but then he veered left, started working with producers like Shlohmo, and is now one of the more interesting artists in the alt-R&B world, mixing radio-ready hooks with forward-thinking production. After "Bo Peep (Do U Right)," the duo are making a whole EP, and "No More," with it's brilliantly woozy, hazy second half, is the first track from it.
4. Young & Sick - "Heartache Fetish"
While a lot of alternative R&B ventures into minimal electronic territory, Young & Sick leans more toward bright, synth-filled pop. His first song, "Glass," was the one that got him noticed, but "Heartache Fetish" slows things down a little without cutting out the vibrancy.
5. Miguel - "Simplethings"
Miguel’s always been on some other shit. Just listen to "My Piece" off his debut. He's crossed over into the mainstream, but he did it at the exact right time. These days, mixing experimental sounds with accessible songwriting is rewarded. Compared to most of the truly "alternative" artists, Miguel is more fit for the masses, but he's a master of creating hits that aren't bland or watered down. His latest song, a contribution to the Girls soundtrack, is no different. At 35 seconds in, you feel the track building up, but right when you think it's about to break out with some big chorus, Miguel takes things into much smoother territory.
In our interview with him last year, Miguel spoke on this: "The redundancy of repetition and the same fucking sounds, the same topics, the same bullshit soulless R&B is over. I’m tired of it. I think most people are tired of it. I think that’s why this alternative sound—it’s not one sound, but it’s all alternative. It’s not what’s expected from the passive R&B listener. I think that’s why it’s appealing."
6. FKA twigs x inc. - "Untitled"
While FKA twigs' otherworldly visual aesthetic extends to her experimental R&B sound (production by Arca, pitch-shifted vocals), the brothers who make up inc. keep things a little more straightforward, working with traditional R&B tropes but wrapping everything in a soft, gentle haze. When the two artists come together—for a 7" and zine which you can learn more about here—the results are beautiful, with the male/female vocal harmonies a real highlight.
Now we just have to sit tight and wait for that FKA twigs album.
7. How To Dress Well - "Words I Don't Remember"
How To Dress Well's 2010 debut album and 2012 follow-up 2012 in many ways are alternative R&B benchmarks, influencing countless artists to try their hand at mixing vocals influenced clearly by '80s and '90s R&B with hazy electronic production. Many have tried, but few have nailed the style quiet like Tom Krell, while recent collaborations with Shlohmo and Jacques Greene see the artist keeping ahead of the game by incorporating new styles. "Words I Don't Remember" starts off with hazy washes of sound—the How To Dress Well we've come to expect—but grows into something more, reaching a powerful, hymnal climax.
8. Movement - "Like Lust"
In 2013, Australia's Movement had one of the best songs of the year with the alluring "Us." For "Like Lust," they sample it, or reference it, or something—it's hard to tell because "Like Lust" is a lot less cohesive and a lot more cut-and-paste, but it maintains that sensual touch.
9. Sevdaliza - "Clear Air"
It's still hard to know which direction Sevdaliza, a Daily Discovery from earlier in March, will go in, and whether R&B will be part of it at all. "Clear Air," the debut official release from the singer who was born in Iran and left for The Netherlands when she was five years old, is bursting with a potent mix of influences, all tied together by a primal feel which comes across in her voice, the pounding percussion, and the visuals.
"Clear Air" is about as far from traditional R&B as you could really get, and the difficulty there is in classifying it or filing it neatly under some genre tag is part of its beauty.
10. Erik Hassle ft. Tinashe - "Innocence Lost"
Across various songs Tinashe has proved that she can make both radio/club friendly R&B (recent single "2 On," for example) and music that is a little more adventurous (much of her Black Water mixtape falls into this category). Her favorite R&B songs bear out these two sides of her sound, with James Blake and SBTRKT sitting alongside Sade and Michael Jackson, and her recent song with Erik Hassle is just as stylistically ambiguous, landing squarely in between pop and R&B.
