Have
you ever seen someone who is so good at guitar or drums or any tool really? I’m sure admiration, jealousy, and
wonder are probably a few of the emotions that come to mind when you see that person
manipulate that tool in a way you never dream you could. It’s hard to imagine how much different
that tool must look to that person.
Pianos must seem so much smaller to great pianists, and beats must be as
obvious as heartbeats to a great drummer.
You might see a canvas and paint or maybe a block of marble, but an
artist can see something else, and maybe two sounds you would think clash
actually meld beautifully if a producer with the right ear can combine them. I would love to get a chance to see the
tools James Blake uses through his eyes.
James
Blake is from London and makes dubstep, but not the kind you’re thinking
of. This type of music isn’t the
“brostep” that people like Skrillex has made popular in the USA. This particular type of dubstep is
ambient electronic that includes elements of R&B as well as other
genres. Each artist is pretty
different, but they all seem to be connected through this one similarity. James Blake seems to fit in here as a
singer-songwriter who uses this ambient electric piano and complex production
in the same way someone else might use an acoustic guitar.
This
is certainly a more accessible album then his previous release. Many of the songs are not as strange or
dangerous as last time, which might be off putting to some of his earlier
fans. However, if it’s not as
ambitious it certainly is just as beautiful. He also lets his different musical tastes have their time in
the sun. We have the track “Life
Round Here” that shows off his electronic tendencies while “Retrograde” is more
R&B influenced then possibly any other Blake track, as well as “Digital
Lion” (which I believe Brian Eno produced) has a bit of a gospel feel to it.
Blake’s abilities really show in
the moments in this album that make your hair stand on end. He has the kind of eerie air about it,
and he wields it without beating you over the head with it. Instead of telling you “This is a bit
strange and creepy” he just plays and lets the listener figure that out for
themselves. Songs like “I Am Sold”
start off really bare, and then rise up without warning. He knows how to use silence as a sound,
and it sometimes is more striking then the music itself. Finally, the songs end exactly where
they should. Sure a long song is
great, but some songs can really suffer when they refuse to take a bow and
exit.
The
one track I can’t decide about is “Take A Fall For Me.” This track has RZA (of the Wu Tang
Clan…duh) rapping over a very clearly James Blake sounding track. I like both of these artists, but the
combination is something I can’t quite decide if I love or hate. At some points RZA’s flow seems a bit
off. The lyrics range from cutting
to kind of cringe-worthy. However,
if the protagonist of the songs is as distraught as the lyrics imply then these
little missteps offer a real sincerity that a really polished break-up song
couldn’t pull off. I have listened
to this track a few times to try and figure out if I really like it, and the
best I can tell it’s a good song that’s only transgression is not adding up to
more then the sum of its parts. It
certainly doesn’t spoil this great album.
Some people can make a great album,
but never quite repeat. James
Blake is not one of these people.
Like the first LP this one is a grower with a ton of great tracks that requires
quite a few listens to explore all the alleys and paths he creates. At less then 40 minutes it’s certainly
not a large investment of time.
Those people who liked the last LP are certainly in for a different
experience, but no one could mistaken this for anything other then a James
Blake release.
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