Polynesian singer-songwriter Josh Tatofi is here to remind you that authentic country music isn’t just from the mainland. The long-celebrated artist from Honolulu has a deep catalog of soulful pop music, but Paniolo Country marks his first deep dive into the country genre. His celebrated voice—they don’t call him the Hawaiian Luther Vandross for nothing—sounds right at home on these dozen rootsy tracks, whether he’s serving up an old-school croon on opener “Baby Blue” or duetting alongside Abby Anderson on the sultry “When You’re With Me.” The centerpiece of Paniolo Country is Tatofi’s striking cover of “Tennessee Whiskey,” a modern country standard originally recorded by David Allen Coe in 1981 and made more recently popular by Chris Stapleton on 2015’s Traveller. Tatofi can go toe to toe with Stapleton with his serpentine agility and masterful sense of phrasing, but he makes the song his own with a healthy dose of heart and a palpable love for the source material.