Introducing...

Soft-spoken with the look of a slightly disaffected 1950s matinee idol, Aaron Frazer possesses a unique voice that’s both contemporary and timeless. On Introducing… — his debut solo album produced by The Black Keys’ Dan Auerbach, co-released on Easy Eye Sound and Dead Oceans — Aaron melds mid-‘60s soul with Auerbach’s particular sensibilities (‘Over You’), songs with a message in the key of Gil Scott-Heron (‘Bad News’), and uplifting tales of love told through a blend of disco, gospel, and doo-wop (‘Have Mercy’).

The Brooklyn-based, Baltimore-raised songwriter first came into the international spotlight as multi-instrumentalist and co-lead singer of Durand Jones & The Indications, but he’s more than a revivalist act. “I didn’t want Introducing… to be an exact recreation of an era or a style,” Frazer says. “I’m excited to keep breaking some of the expectations around what exactly I’m supposed to be artistically and musically, or what this scene as a whole can be.” On Introducing…, Aaron expertly calibrates consciousness-raising and the desire to be enveloped by love. Where previous records were written in a partial state of turmoil, Aaron’s debut LP shows maturation and range. Introducing… is both loving and gracious, critical without losing hope, and a showcase of a young artist on a seriously soulful ascent.

SIDE A:

1. You Don’t Wanna Be My Baby

2. If I Got It (Your Love Brought It)

3. Can’t Leave It Alone

4. Bad News

5. Have Mercy

6. Done Lyin’

SIDE B:

7. Lover Girl

8. Ride with Me

9. Girl on the Phone

10. Love Is

11. Over You

12. Leanin’ on Your Everlasting Love