Lucky Daye (aka David Debrandon Brown) is everything I want out of a modern soul/R&B artist. His vocals are creamy and he can hit the falsetto notes (I’m lightly reminded of Curtis Mayfield). His music is imbued with throwback elements while remaining firmly planted in the present (see stripped-back PBR&B-flavored slow jam “Love You Too Much”), and it moves between sexy and romantic sounds and subject matter (“Real Games” is a hot head-bobber with a funky-wet bass groove that I’ve had on repeat—and it has a high-quality rap break that further highlights Brown’s talents). He lands in town behind debut full-length Painted. by Leilani Polk