Curtis Harding: Explore

From Curtis Harding’s new album, If Words Were Flowers (out Friday, 5 November), comes another soulful, psychedelic track. With horns, spacey synths and a groovy bass line, “Explore” possess a smoky, lounge energy that’s buoyed by Harding’s vulnerable but debonair vocals. The Atlanta-based artist also announced a 2022 tour that will see him visiting cities in the US, UK and Europe.

Ruthven: Don’t Keep It To Yourself

Released on Jai and AK Paul’s label-meets-collective Paul Institute, Ruthven’s hypnotic “Don’t Keep It To Yourself” is a spacious, slinky and sultry track about pillow talk and secrets—”bedroom feels,” the UK-based singer-songwriter and musician says. Blending elements of future funk, ’80s R&B and more, Ruthven (aka Sean Nelson) effortlessly transitions between delicate falsetto and big, soulful pop vocals.

MICHELLE: MESS U MADE

New York collective MICHELLE is a predominately queer and POC sextet that succeeds in blending their various experiences and styles into one cohesive, R&B-tinged whole. Their latest release, “MESS U MADE,” does so through an indie-inspired jam that expertly harmonizes and interweaves vocals from each of the group’s four leading singers: Sofia D’Angelo, Emma Lee, Layla Ku and Jamee Lockard. Accompanying the bop, a music …