Please Don’t Be Dead is the third album from Fantastic Negrito, the stage name of singer-songwriter Xavier Dprhepaulezz. Expectation is high, Negrito having scooped a Grammy for Best Contemporary Blues Artist for his previous LP, The Last Days Of Oakland – and boy does he live up to it. Indeed, Please Don’t Be Dead is one of the finest records I’ve heard this year. Amongst numerous superb tracks, ‘Bad Guy Necessity’ is particularly memorable. Blending sinister verses with sweet, organ-infused choruses – not to mention searing guitar licks – the song boasts real lyrical flair: “Everybody needs a bad guy/ They need someone to blame/ Everybody needs a bad guy/ So they can have a saviour.” Elsewhere, ‘Dark Windows’ is a spellbinding slow jam that beautifully showcases Fantastic Negrito’s delicate falsetto, which recalls Prince at his silkiest. The album is rich, with a production style that evokes a whole history of funk, R&B, blues and soul: its sheer musicality has echoes of icons like Curtis Mayfield, Marvin Gaye, Lead Belly and Robert Johnson. What’s more, in a time when mainstream R&B can often be straitjacketed by formulaic production, the organic feel here makes for a refreshing change. Make no mistake: Please Don’t Be Dead brims with life. OUT NOW

Rating: 8/10