The Ashen Tang

The London-based producer broadens modern R&B’s possibilities on a questing debut. Opener “Remembrance (Part I)”’s collision of 16th-century poetry and twitchy alt-funk establishes the range and ambition of his ideas before he seeds wub-wub bass into gentle folk on “Midas Palm” and coaxes the sexually-frustrated funk of “Honeydripper“ into electronica and jazz. Such eclecticism can be disconcerting but Royce Junior’s old-school belief in vivid melodies and soulful vocals ensures The Ashen Tang is consistently engaging.