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Watch Autre Ne Veut’s Emotive Face in the ‘Play By Play’ Video

Autre Ne Veut 'Play By Play" Video Anxiety

Brooklyn’s Arthur Ashin had been lying low while his Autre Ne Veut alter-ego was out garnering buzz as the latest alt-R&B lothario to the scene. But dude’s identity has since been revealed — he’s a master’s candidate in psychology, natch — and there’s no sense in hiding anymore. The singer doesn’t bother obscuring his face in the video for “Play By Play.” In fact, he uses that stubbly mug to convey all kinds of emotion (via ’90s boy band earnestness) as he coos inside of the most awkward karaoke room we’ve yet to enter. For a single, this track is the right choice. SPIN’s Puja Patel identified the song as the obvious highlight on the “gauzy, delicate” new album Anxiety, explaining that, “with all its grand hooks and hazy ambiance washing over the stuttering echoes of homegrown drum machines, it starts to resemble [a] Timbaland radio hit: OneRepublic’s ‘Apologize.'” Indeed, there’s a certain sheen to Autre Ne Veut’s yearning sound that places him in the running, alongside Mikky Ekko, for R&B’s next radio-ready up-and-comer.