Thinking In Textures - Chet Faker (2012)

It’s gotta be a bit galling as a songwriter and working musician to have one of your most recognizable tracks be a cover version.

Nick Murphy, who records under his own name but also under the (I assume pun-based) Chet Faker alias, debuted with this fun EP of slithery, slinky R&B joint.

There are 7 tracks here, each equally smart and fun and slightly transgressive. Echo-y keyboards and slick synthesized beats weave around Murphy’s strong and gravelly voice.

It just happens that one of those tracks was a canny, tongue-in-cheek cover of 90s New Jack Swing kings Blackstreet. It’s as good, probably not better, than the other tracks (and to his credit, a great spin on the tune itself), but it’s the track that took the Internet by storm.

I suppose it’s good that a guy could get such a boost from a first release. But I’d recommend the songs he actually wrote on this as well as his other records.