It would appear that we're officially expected to refer to the artist in question here as the Wonderful Sound of Induce!, exclamation mark and all. Forgoing that admittedly excessive task, it's nevertheless quite easy to acquiesce to the primary agenda of Induce's debut album by surrendering to the sensual flow of this Miami-based one-man band's genre-defying sound. Induce began his musical journey as a DJ, which means that keeping things danceable remains a priority, but it also means that he's a hardcore record geek who has absorbed a wide world of influences, and over the course of Halfway Between Me and You, he offers up a constantly shape-shifting amalgam of those inspirations. Trace elements of everything from Prince to Kid Creole & the Coconuts are audible on Induce's tour de force, but perhaps that's at least partly because His Purpleness and August "Kid" Darnell are the same sort of syncretists as our man from Miami, making Induce's blend of pop, modern R&B, hip-hop, classic soul, and dance music seem like part of a grand tradition. In fact, Induce has also cited both Brian Wilson and New Edition as inspirations, and both make perfect sense; you can hear the former in the way the lush harmonies are layered atop intricate arrangements where each element is perfectly placed, and the latter in the unrelenting roll-out of hooks and the synth-splashed, pop-savvy R&B grooves that power so many of the tracks. The very first words we hear on the album come courtesy of a voice-over informing us that "This must be the happiest breakup album of all time." The fact that it's entirely possible to enjoy the entirety of Halfway Between Me and You without getting even a whiff of post-breakup angst indicates that statement is either a great joke or undeniably true.