Dornik may have been hailed as the UK’s answer to Miguel, but the delays and protracted recording sessions for his debut album hint at D’Angelo levels of perfectionism. Initially shared online in 2013, the featherlight pulse of Something About You is joined here by nine other meticulously crafted electro-soul songs that reveal themselves slowly and deliberately. So while the album is bookended by its two most upbeat moments – the 80s-era-Prince-like Strong and On My Mind’s splashy funk, respectively – the rest settles into a mid-pace groove that suits Dornik’s delicate vocal, specifically the lilting Michael Jackson-isms of Shadow and the gorgeous Chain Smoke. Although still a little too in thrall to his influences, there’s enough personality here to set him apart.
