Age of Transparency

Autre Ne Veut gets even more avant-garde with R&B on his third album, shredding both his high-pitched voice and the tableau of piano, synthetic bass, and multi-layered choruses that typically lie beneath. The dramatic highs and lows of "Cold Winds" and "Switch Hitter" are not easy listening, but their tense buildups and cascading drums highlight the love-ridden anxiety of the lyrics. The titular song earns its seat of honor, with an ambient jazz opening unspooling into traditional balladry before building to an intense crescendo of computer trickery and croon.