If You Feel is a near quantum leap from the promising steps Xavier Omär took across the latter half of the 2010s. Progressing from a crop of independent singles, EPs, featured appearances, and Moments Spent Loving You, his first and immediately preceding release for RCA, Omär has put together a set of rare cohesion despite the involvement of well over a dozen producers. It secures his position as one of the most sympathetic and artful R&B artists around -- one who can combine the introspective and highly descriptive songwriting of a bedroom songwriter with a harmonic approach learned as a gospel choir member. The clearest evidence of Omär's comprehensive advancement is in the fused tracks "want/need" and "SURF." As he invokes Dru Hill, he's suggestive without being explicit, enticed by body talk leading to "hips in cursive," and is then too enraptured to regret that he and his woman slept late and "missed the service." That's merely a prelude to "SURF," the most appealing of several bliss-outs exalting his partner and their connection and support for one another. Songs basking in the glow of love also start and finish the album. "FIND ME." sets the tone with a slippery and off-center dancefloor funk groove, and "Like I Feel," a zephyr of a folk-soul duet with Mereba, finishes it off. Between them, there's also "All Our Time," a carefree roller sweetened by Jae Stephens riding shotgun, and "So Much More," a legitimate wedding song that could be mistaken for a supreme Brian McKnight cover. Part of what makes the idyllic material so effective is that it's set off by ballads that are self-questioning and just as heartfelt. Not above examining his faults for the sake of his union, Omär doubts his ability to provide his partner with what she deserves, owns up to complacency, and sounds genuinely critical when he recalls "Textin' back a shorty who don't carry my name." There's a lack of egotistical sentiment even in the less settled moments, and there's always a sense of calm conviction, like Omär's thoughts are flowing through him rather than being shot forth. ~ Andy Kellman, Rovi

1		FIND ME.
2		Something Changed
3		All Our Time
4		So Much More
5		want/need
6		SURF
7		Protect
8		Bon Iverre
9		More Than Less
10		Lil' Healer
11		Like I Feel

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