Climax

Well, this is nice. 20 seconds into ‘Climax’, the first track from Usher’s upcoming, untitled seventh album, and the oiled-up swoonster has already delivered the best R&B vocal of the last five years. A gut-yanking, Confessions-style lament documenting the turning-point in a doomed romance, ‘Climax’ is all the more interesting for the stark, stormy beats of Diplo, who lovingly dubbed it “the best record I’ve been part of.” It’s pretty simple, really. No wallops, no gimmicks. Just a gorgeously restrained arrangement and a three-octave superstar doing what only a handful of singers on the planet can do.