Maxwell - Bad Habits

Everyone has a few Bad Habits, even the unflappably smooth Maxwell—for example, the R&B vet has an unfortunate tendency to refuse interview opportunities with certain high-profile music sites (okay, to be fair, that was Columbia Records’ mistake).  Of course, it’s hard to hold that against him when he’s dropping records like Pretty Wings, which won him a tremendous 4.25 average in the Booth.  Bad Habits doesn’t pack the aforementioned single’s eclectically catchy punch, but boasts many of the same elements that made that cut a hit among our readers.  Maxwell’s falsetto-laced vocals are as steamy as ever, but the live-band backdrop is, once again, what truly separates this track from the pack; the Hot David and Musze-produced beat shapeshifts throughout the record’s nearly-six-minute running time, moving from modern R&B to horn-fueled funk-soul and even incorporating a dash of reggae before settling into a chilled-out, instrumental denouement.  If you’re digging Maxwell’s organically fresh fusion of old and new-school sounds, don’t miss his comeback LP, BLACKsummer’snight, which hits stores and online retailers July 7th.