We tend to valorize originality in pop music, but there’s definitely something to be said for artists who master an anachronistic style and make it sound fresh and exciting without doing anything especially innovative with it. For example, consider James Hunter, who is an unabashed acolyte of 1950s and 1960s soul, R&B and bluebeat, and who purveys that music with sweetness and put intent. The title track on this album is a ska-soul gem complete with strings and horns, and it’s followed up immediately by an equally brilliant funky R&B workout called “No Smoke without Fire.” And then he proceeds from strength to strength.