RJD2

For better or worse, RJD2 is an artist obsessed with forward movement. After gaining critical praise for his tempered, sample-heavy debut, Deadringer, the Ohio producer released a triumvirate of records that saw him moving into hard beat box funk, awkward singer-songwriter groove and revisionist R&B. Returning to the production style that defined his first two releases, More Is Than Isn't brings together a handful of guest vocalists and rappers to round out a collection of 16 golden age electro tunes. Although tracks like the live drum and organ grinder "A Lot of Night Ahead of You" and polyrhythmic banger "Winter Isn't Coming" sit as career highlights, too much of the album finds RJD2 either recycling old ideas verbatim (Bacharach-ian ballad "Dirty Hands) or forcing out new ones (the grating collaboration with rapper P.Blackk, "Bathwater"). More Is Than Isn't showcases an artist refusing to learn from prior mistakes and not yet ready to capitalize on his past achievements.