Jaymes Young/Facebook

Jaymes Young’s moody electro-R&B sounds feel perfectly familiar and unfamiliar at the same time.

“Girl I get stoned on you / Rubbing my bones on you,” he sings in pleasant, clear-cut vocals to a vibing electronic drumbeat. “Nothing else burns like you / Ripping my shirt off you.”

With the ability to blend alternative rock, electronic pop and soul all into one, the Seattle-born artist’s moody sentiments on love and relationships are incredibly raw and carefully crafted. With a background of growing up in Seattle and residing in Los Angeles, that scenery seems to fit Young’s music perfectly: his clear-cut vocals are tinged with emotional vulnerability; his production is lush and tight, giving steadiness to his synth pop melodies; and his songs blend elements of upbeat synth percussions and tender pop to heartfelt lyrics.

Young made a stop at the Fox Theater in Oakland to open up for British pop duo Oh Wonder on their Ultralife World Tour last Thursday night — and it’s just a matter of time before the world catches onto Young.

With a liking to Coldplay meets Iron & Wine and Death Cab For Cutie, Young’s music is perfectly textured and catchy. It’s moody and raw, vulnerable and deliberate. The singer-songwriter and musician began writing at the age of 14 and received the attention of critics with his Dark Star EP in 2013. With his debut album Feel Something released this past June, Young has been pushing his music out to listeners new and old.

Watch his performance of “Stoned On You” during his set at the Fox Theater in Oakland below:

You can keep up with everything Jaymes Young and purchase his debut album Feel Something at jaymesyng.com.

This article was featured in SFCritic.