Editors' Notes R&B in the 2010s has come to be defined by moody atmospherics—due in no small part to The Weeknd, whose debut mixtape proved a game-changer. It's no surprise, then, that one of the signees to his XO imprint is Black Atlass, another singer whose falsetto lives in that same hazy vein. The Montreal native grew his profile in the fashion world (in 2017, he was the face of True Religion), but music was always the undercurrent. His second album, Dream Awake, basks in the shadowy reverb of his production and the delicate breathiness of his vocals to create an album that feels like a purple-tinted midnight. He's at his best on songs like “Show Me” that creep along, building out an aura that is equal parts mysterious and lusty. But Black Atlass, as if to follow in his labelmate's footsteps, also displays an inclination towards the poppier end of the spectrum: “By My Side” and “On Your Mind” offer glimpses of his potential futures.