The male, left-of-center R&B field is beginning to get pretty crowded, but we are happy to welcome newcomers to the field with open arms as long as they are bringing quality musicianship. While we can't strictly call Royce Wood Junior a "newcomer" (he handled a large chunk of the production on Jamie Woon's excellent mirrorwriting, released a track called "Jodie" alongside Woon and released a collaborative EP with Stac) we can definitely say he is bringing the quality after listening to his new single "Nuff," released via the recently formed Parlez Parlez label. The track is a heady blend of James Blake-esque downtempo soul and Jamie Lidell's Compass-era industrial funk with rich, soothing vocals providing the proverbial "cherry on top."
I initially thought it was Royce handling the singing with a little assistance from studio trickery to change it up, however the vocals are actually provided by The Coattails, an unidentified five-piece who we have been trying to pinpoint through repeated listens. Our best guess at the moment is that The Coattails includes Royce and possibly Jamie Woon and Kwabs (who Royce has been in the studio with), but we could be completely wrong. Either way, we can't wait to get our hands on the upcoming EP.
