Aromanticism

Aromanticism was made over three years of travel, with lyrics largely written on buses and in cabins without Wi-Fi in North Carolina and California. The concept came from a late-night search for the word in 2014. Singles were "Doomed" (June 27, 2017), "Quarrel" (August 11) and "Indulge Me" (September 5), and the album reworks two earlier songs, "Plastic" and "Lonely World". Sumney plays vocals, bass, guitar and synthesizers, with Rob Moose on strings, Miguel Atwood-Ferguson on strings, Brandee Younger on harp, Rashaan Carter on upright bass, Jamire Williams on drums, Thundercat on bass and Paris Strother on piano; Ben Baptie mixed it and Ted Jensen mastered.

The Guardian and the Observer each gave it four out of five, AllMusic 4.5, Uncut 8 out of 10, and the Chicago Tribune's Greg Kot wrote that the songs are built to linger; Spin's Brian Josephs noted that for an album centered on lonesomeness, it feels warm. NYT's Jon Pareles ranked it third of 2017 and Pitchfork sixth, and it won the 2018 Libera Award for Best Outlier Record.