“You Don’t Ignore (Too Late)” by Petit Biscuit

With a smooth and truly stylish vocal to lead us, Petit Biscuit proclaims his place in the hierarchy of pop royalty in his new single ”You Don’t Ignore (Too Late),” by far my favorite crossover pop/R&B jam of the autumn and a song that is quickly becoming the hottest contemporary urban track in indie music. Petit Biscuit isn’t even pretending to be taking it slow on “You Don’t Ignore (Too Late).” He wants it all, and he’s ready to make a snatch at all of the fame and glory that he’s long deserved as a composer and performer. This is just the beginning for him, and when it’s never been clearer what kind of sound is going to be reigning over the charts in the next decade than now, it’s the perfect time for an artist of this caliber to emerge and take the reins.

“You Don’t Ignore (Too Late)” opens up with a sleek electro harmony that plays in the foreground like a subtle soundscape. This doesn’t sound like a sample; there’s so much character in the notes that the rhythm almost resembles the delicate striking of a piano in an empty concert hall. When Petit Biscuit starts to sing, it’s like a wave of cool water washing over the white-hot heat being radiated from the stereo speakers.

Out of nowhere, it’s like he’s all around us. The energy is growing and we’re powerless to stop the tension from rising. When it feels like we can’t take anymore, the chorus gives way to an epic breakdown that jettisons out into the night sky and leaves a trail of smoky bass in its wake.

We’re lost and at the same time right where we need to be, as Petit Biscuit sways back into the fold and starts throwing different colors at us through his excellent vocal range. There’s so much minimalism in “You Don’t Ignore (Too Late)” that it almost follows an arc, an artistic horseshoe if you will, and winds up in an indulgent, decadent place that was secretly, mischievously tucked under the delicate thin surface packaging.

As we switch gears back and forth from verse to chorus to breakdown and again, it starts to feel like we’re witnessing a cluster of sonic forces clashing and merging into something elemental and consuming our consciousness. The hypnotic nature of the beats makes all of the brooding layers of Petit Biscuit’s voice all the more spellbinding, and by the time “You Don’t Ignore (Too Late)” comes to its ultimate completion, we’re dazed and left jarred from the cerebral journey that our ears and minds have just taken us on. It’s an adventurous and ambitious track from an artist with a lot to prove, but not once does it feel like Petit Biscuit has bitten off more than he can chew here.

There’s too much depth and too much potential for his sound not to fill up the entire room in a larger-than-life fashion. This is the kind of music that comes once in a generation, and if he finds the right market, Petit Biscuit is going to be a superior entity in this upcoming era of pop.

Mindy McCall