Jamie Isaac - (04.30) Idler

The Guardian 80

(Marathon Artists)

From Bon Iver to the Weeknd via our own James Blake, sad boys have stamped their imprimatur on the early years of this century. The latest exponent finds the subgenre subtly levelling up. Jamie Isaac is a classically trained multi-instrumentalist infused with the smoky sensibility of south London – the bass of dubstep, the loneliness of the night bus – as well as jazz and granular digitals. His 2016 debut, Couch Baby, found the twentynothing lolling on soft furnishings, yearning and regretting.

This sequel, written in sunny California and recorded with a full band in London, throws open the curtains a little, taking Isaac closer to the mainstream. Songs such as Maybe re-introduce him as a jazz-pop loverman, an unlikely heir to Sade; Doing Better actually swings. Wings, meanwhile, leans on bossanova rhythms. True to its roots, the song starts off watching a girl gnawing on chicken. (04:30) Idler/Sleep is intended to soundtrack night-time journeys – Isaac’s insomnia is a major inspiration – but the headspace remains interior, with Doppler-effect burbles and inhales adding to the atmosphere. These aren’t vast nocturnal canvases, but immersive miniatures that repay close attention.