JMSN
It is.
(White Room Records)

JMSN, the Michigan-bred producer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, who released the acclaimed Priscilla LP in 2012, returns with It is. — a record that’s half soul and funk mixed with that alternative R&B The Weeknd initially gave us on House of Balloons. Bred in a suburb of Detroit, Christian Berishaj is very Marvin Gaye-meets-D’Angelo, full of bravado and emotion. He’s a fan of leaving it all out there for others to connect and analyze. So with a chip firmly planted on his shoulder, JMSN (pronounced Jamison) seems to have created an album that’s part sermon (“Good Ol’ Case of the Blues”), part therapy session (“Be a Man, Pt. 2”), part romantic figure (“Fantasize,” “Hypnotized,” “Most of All”), and part artistic expression (“Funk Outta Here”). It is. is the type of project you either feel or you don’t. It’s very anti and I suspect that’s been the intention since he dropped his debut on White Room Records, the label he created after two major studio deals.