Rafter

San Diego, CA wunderkind Rafter Santos-Roberts has made a name as a sometimes member/producer for fellow Cali indie purists like Soul-Junk and Castanets. But on his fourth LP, Animal Feelings, Rafter has decided to follow Dirty Projectors, Passion Pit and Yeasayer into the blog-friendly world of pop-/R&B-inspired rock. Leadoff "No Fucking Around" stands as the LP's most immediate track, transporting good old vocoder choruses onto the Roots-inspired piano beds, coming off more Travis Morrison than Mark Morrison. "Feels Good" lays party-hardy handclaps over lethargic beats, giving the album that highly sought after pre-crazy Prince feel, while "Never Gonna Die" pushes the clock forward a few decades, dribbling melodies over blacktop synth and drum patterns. Animal Feelings is an album with the ability to freely cough up the essence of many different sounding R&B, hip-hop and indie rock artists, which is the exact reason why it feels so disingenuous.