Consumer Guide Album

Fred Again..: 10 Days [Atlantic, 2024]
This dance-identified, Grammy-winning, 31-year old British . . . producer? frontman? artist? what? not only has royal blood of some sort (we really don't understand that stuff over here) but started making music with his neighbor Brian Eno when he was still a tad. How its murmured lyrics, soft-edged electronics, and demure groove might function on the dancefloor I couldn't explicate either except to observe that all three effects pretty much abjure the big beats I associated with disco from a critical distance half a century ago. But I can observe that the way it dwells on such fondly repeated recitations as "I adore you" and even more so "she loves me" is more happy than emotional much less erotic, which is not only for the best but a pleasure and a boon to hear them done right. "I got places to be/ Like me next to you and you next to me," Fred croons. Amen brother. A-