Photo by Ebru Yildiz
A few years ago, New York newcomer Nick Hakim impressed with his debut EP, showing off his rumpled, just-out-of-bed soul songs. He keeps that homespun quality on “Bet She Looks Like You,” a taste from his upcoming full-length album, but adds a smoky, psych-fried edge to it.
Hakim’s songs have a casual vibe to them, like D’Angelo on a DIY budget. He’s Berklee College-trained, but Hakim lets his songs breathe rather than fill them in with a flurry of notes. “Bet She Looks Like You” is cavernous, all the instruments clearing out space for a blasted drum break and Hakim’s cracked voice. “If there is a God / I wonder what she looks like / bet she looks like you,” he croons. His soul music might be homespun, but it’s also spiritually and cosmically minded.
“Bet She Looks Like You” appears on Green Twins, out May 19.
–Art Levy // host, Sunday 10 a.m. – 2 p.m, producer, My KUTX
