New Sacred Cow

He’s on Fred Durst’s new imprint, but don’t hold it against him. Cocreated with pal Chad Hugo (half of production Ph.D.’s the Neptunes), this debut takes an obsession with ’80s synth-pop, adds neck-snapping beats, and applies a modern singer-songwriter market sense. You’ll hear flickers of the Cars, Duran Duran, Gary Numan, and Thom Yorke. But mostly you’ll hear a savvy, idiosyncratic artist who could help redeem pop radio. Root for him.