Acid drenched R&B throwback Nick Hakim is still touring in support of his debut release from last year, Green Twins, which sounds like something straight out of a 1970s Blaxploitation movie, but with the echo and reverb turned up to 11. All greasy and grooving, the entire album is drenched in swishy pop keyboards that would be considered “disco” if not juxtaposed against such dreamy midnight movie soundscapes. His South American heritage definitely influences some of the tracks, but there’s a wide mix of regional U.S. inspirations, thanks to time spent living everywhere from Washington D.C. to Boston and Brooklyn NYC., where Green Twins coalesced. One can easily imagine each of those city skylines as backdrop to various selected tracks found on his major label debut.

The production’s full-blown depth and sheen could easily have overwhelmed the introspective and personal nature of his songwriting, which was more solo-ish on the earlier self-released EPs that so-impressed the New York Times and NPR (which hosted a Tiny Desk Concert with Hakim). As if to remind everyone that he’s still a solo troubadour at heart, 27 year-old Hakim just finished a short tour that found him doing acoustic solo renditions of his debut album. However, it appears he’s bringing his full band to House of Blues on May 6 for this year’s Desert Daze Caravan Tour, which includes DIY retro rocker Ariel Pink and L.A. space-drone trio Jjuujjuu (also playing July 6 at SDSU with Primus).