Sachal Vasandani started out as a refined balladeer tackling jazz standards with the nasality of Kurt Elling but the jazz-pop fragility of Michael Franks. His version of “September in the Rain” from his 2007 debut album balances the nostalgia of Michael Bublé with a modern sensibility that opts for lean arrangements and a coolly ambivalent demeanor. He completed a shift toward sophisticated pop with 2015’s Slow Motion Miracles while retaining elastic, jazz-derived phrasing. His 2021 album Midnight Shelter, with keyboardist Romain Collin, recalibrated that shift with a more subdued delivery that feels like a genuine sweet spot.