Image by Laura-Lynn Petrick for Alternative Nation

Homeshake’s third single from his brand new album, Fresh Air, is an R&B track turned sideways and inside out. The airy chords hit softly, the pseudo synth bass gives the track groove and the clap/snare drum track reminds us that Sagar has fully shed his “indie rock” exterior.

The song’s hook is one of Homeshake’s best. The monotonous beat repetition of the phrase, “kissing, hugging, making loving, waking up and getting high,” serves as a nice contrast to Sagar’s usual purr. The song takes another turn near the halfway point when the vocals pitch up and the bass does a little dance over the chord change. The drums hit harder and the snare hits feel wet as can be.

Peter Sagar has proved with this song, and this new record, that genre-borrowing can be a very good thing. We know the ex-Mac DeMarco guitarist has had one foot in indie rock for a while, but this neo-soul style is a step in the right direction for the Canadian musician.

Fresh Air is out now on Sinderlyn Records.