New York duo Lion Babe's brand of R&B was especially nostalgic on early singles and their 2016 debut full-length Begin, swinging between disco-level bounciness and atmospheres that sought to re-create the scratchy warmth of a worn-out '70s soul record. There were hints of ethereal production here and there, but second album Cosmic Wind pushes the group's swimmy sounds into the foreground, creating a nonstop flow. Vocalist Jillian Hervey remains at the center of the duo's tracks, but here the sounds feel more minimal. Even when mining similarly nostalgic fare as their earlier material on single "Western World" (a slinky groove that reworks the Pet Shop Boys' hit "West End Girls" and features a cameo from Wu-Tang's Raekwon), the instrumentation is full but uncluttered and the overall feel of the music is less about evoking a certain feeling or memory than it is just letting the groove ride out. The group manages to subtly touch on a wide range of styles without losing their light, dreamy vibe. The chunky electro-funk bassline of "Into Me" blurs into songs composed of chopped-up soul samples and mellow glitchy beats. Lion Babe also stay in touch with their dance music side, in particular on the pulsing party track "The Wave" featuring Leikeli47. The song pushes along joyously, hiding horn sections and nervy guitar under its pervasive feel-good beat. Easygoing, carefree vibes are the primary direction throughout Cosmic Wind. Even the discombobulated off-time percussion samples that make up the Dilla-esque beat for "Honey Dew" somehow don't take away from the song's light touch. Similarly, Hervey's gliding vocal harmonies sometimes stray into rapped or spoken word moments, but retain a gentle yet powerful gracefulness in all their forms. With 15 songs clocking in at just shy of an hour, Cosmic Wind lingers, but stops short of overstaying its welcome. Instead, the album sprawls out in relaxed bliss, Lion Babe moving confidently through their wide spectrum of laid-back moods and smiling sounds. ~ Fred Thomas, Rovi

1		Cosmic Wind
2		Western World
3		Into Me
4		Never Before
5		When I Told You I Loved You
6		Hit the Ceiling
7		The Wave
8		Reminisce
9		No Rules
10		Honey Dew
11		Sexy Please
12		Different Planet
13		Anyway You Want To
14		Can I See It
15		So Long