Prolific in 2020, singer/songwriter and guitarist
Devon Gilfillian
released the promising
Black Hole Rainbow
and a faithful whole-album cover of
Marvin Gaye
's
What's Going On
that year. The following year -- mere months after a deluxe edition of
expanded his debut full-length to nearly 90 minutes --
Gilfillian
was dropped by his label, but with help from
Gaye
-tribute guest
Nathaniel Rateliff
, the musician found his feet again on
Fantasy Records
. On his return,
simply continues refining his feel-good, down-to-earth roots R&B with extensive assistance from
Jeremy Lutito
, a producer and multi-instrumentalist who co-wrote "Stay a Little Longer" for
.
balances love ballads, message songs, and escapist jams with better skill here than he did on his debut. During a particularly varied stretch, the hopeful gospel of "Let the Water Flow" lands smoothly between the heady "Right Kind of Crazy" and deceptively tricky disco-funk of "Imma Let My Body Move." The material also puts
's slightly grainy falsetto to better use without overdoing it, best heard on the chic "Brown Sugar Queen," a cumbia and reggaeton-splashed collaboration with
Janice
. ~ Andy Kellman