BY MC GALANG

Jason Dhakal has proven himself to be a deft R&B songwriter, and equally, if not more importantly, a skilled collaborator. Thematically, “Heaven” is straight out of the R&B playbook: coy but not trite, sometimes even endearing in its silliness. It operates within its candidness and willingness to be vulnerable as a form of empowerment infectious in its self-assertion.

Wielding the stuff of pillow talk or/through digital intimacy has found its potency through the malleability of the genre, evolving from and still maintaining its traditional roots—and Jason Dhakal and his collaborators are guided by this principle. LUSTBASS’s production has leaned towards a minimal arrangement, much like their work together in a previous track, “Body & Soul.” Trading the ambient textures of his excellent debut EP, Night In, for supple instrumental work, Jason Dhakal’s songwriting narrative picks up from Night In’s nocturnal reflections to charming optimism. Whether or not this string of releases is purposefully structured that way, it plays out naturally, messily, human.

Stream Heaven

HEADER PHOTO CREDIT: JASON DHAKAL/FACEBOOK