How to Dress Well is the musical project of Tom Krell, a former PhD philosophy student with an elegant falsetto and a fixation on difficult emotions – especially those dealing with loss, death and heartbreak. In 2009 Krell began issuing digital EPs and singles until the release of his first record, Love Remains, a year later. His debut full-length was an ambient/electronic outgrowth of the (dubious) PBR&B genre, a classification meant to encompass contemporary acts like the Weeknd, Frank Ocean and Miguel. Now on his third album, “What Is This Heart?” – in quotes like Bowie’s “Heroes” – Krell has opted for a more traditional pop aesthetic that sees the evolution of a previously minimalist sonic palette into one with more rhythm and less fuzz. What hasn’t changed, though, is the songwriting. Krell’s devotion to airy vocals about relationships, passion and deceased best friends shifts from ruminative to painfully fatalistic. On “Repeat Pleasure,” a standout single, stirring chants about lost love build to a powerful chorus over staccato guitar: “Oh if you want it, guess you want it all baby/But once you got it you want something else/Even if you’re holding out for something unchanging/Yeah, once you got it, you want something else.” A balanced pop record with R&B inclinations “What Is This Heart?” achieves unlikely clarity amid deeply personal reflections. By opening a window into his intimate, subconscious spaces, Krell guides listeners to confront their own innermost being. The results are unashamedly beautiful. (Domino/Weird World, dominorecordco.com) Harrison Samphir