Matter

You could never accuse St. Lucia's wunderkind leader Jean-Philip Grobler of concealing his intentions. 'Matter', the band's follow-up to 2013's 'When The Night', is 11 thundering blasts of pop. They've taken the debut's cavernous sounds and exploded them: The melodies are sharper, the song structures more concise and Grobler's vocals more assured. In fact, we haven't heard a male pop vocalist sing his heart out this way since the '80s. First single, 'Dancing On Glass' is an earworm of hooks and choral vocals. Throughout 'Matter', the details actually do matter: A funky, Prince-like guitar and falsetto breakdown midway through 'Physical,' layers of shimmer glazed over 'Stay,' or the sweet final minute ("go find me somebody to love!") of the album's lone midtempo, 'Love Somebody.'