There’s currently a lot of buzz around the electronic artist James Blake in the UK. In January he came runner up in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 poll, and last week he released his self-titled debut album on Atlas records. Having made a name for himself with his forward-thinking dubstep productions on the labels Hessle Audio and R&S, he has gone in a very different direction on James Blake.

Though some of the dub-style production tropes remain, the sound is much more folk influenced, with some of the tracks featuring just Blake on vocals with spare piano accompaniment. This is most definitely not a dancefloor record, it’s much more of a post-club album, with shades of Anthony Hegarty, John Martyn and even Laurie Anderson. It’s a definite shoe-in for a Mercury Music Prize nomination, and it’s the kind of worthy project the judges love to reward. But is it any good?
 

 
Some of the production on James Blake is stunning, but unfortunately this over shadows the actual songs, that to these ears could have done with a lot of refining and a lot less meandering. For a dubstep producer to make a move away from instrumental bin-shakers it would be useful to have a few more songs of the standard of “Limit To Your Love” or “The Wilhelm Scream” - I find what I am drawn to more is the intricate production of “I Never Learned To Share” or “To Care (Like You)”, which are hugely impressive without being particularly engaging. There is a sense that this is mood music rather than pop, and as such it easily begins to fade into the background.

A lot of the press buzz around Blake’s album is about dubstep “growing up”, which is misleading. Dubstep may be a cornerstone of his career, but on this album it sounds more like a footnote, or a production flavor used to shade a very different palate. Where this record seems more aimed at is the gap left in the market by Radiohead being on hiatus or, dare I say it, the coffee table. The album is definitely interesting, but it’s something I want to like more than I actually like. One day when I am in a particular mood I am sure it will hit the perfect spot, but til then, I will continue to listen to “CMYK” instead.

You can hear James Blake in full here, streaming on the Dutch website 3VOOR12.

James Blake is currently available on import in the States via Amazon.

Thanks to Kelvin Brown for the link.

James Blake is available
in the US at the iTunes Store
and the Amazon MP3 Store.

This sounds great, thanks for the tip. May I suggest not worrying so much about what “type” of music it is, you might enjoy it more that way.

UM, BASICALLY A TW1NK DR3AM…

http://hipsterrunoff.com/altreport/2011/02/uncovered-james-blakes-hit-song-rips-pre-existing-song-should-we-hold-it-against-him.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter

I listened and CMYK could be virtually anybody. This album however sounds like someone trying to make interesting and individual music. Just because it’s not aimed for the dance floor doesn’t make it Radiohead or “coffee table”. Ugh, critic speak. But still despite the needless snark, I appreciate you pointing this out, it’s great. The most obvious reference point is Scott Walker, at least to my ears.

Bon Iver also

brad, why you gotta have a poopie diaper all the time?

well another reviewer said it sounds like a missed opportunity.
for me compared to his other mindbending productions its just an album with nice average little songs with good moody production. put in some hype and it reaches more people than this kind of stuff normally would do (for a reason).

and i dont mean cmyk but stuff like on hessle audio he did
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePZs-KuSb8o

or his bootleg workouts as harmonimix.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH5iyLSv4xY

Thanks for those links. I’ve become a fan of everything I’ve heard by Blake. It all sounds of a piece to me, the common thread being his excellent chord changes.
My problem with the kvetching here is that the “hype” is not contained in the music. You can’t blame his “people” for trying to sell a “strange” album, but I think it’s great that they are managing to do just that. What is your metric for what a “nice average little song” is ? Are you disappointed that he’s not aiming for “Bohemian Rhapsody”?
As someone who has dealt with music critics for decades, I’m always irked when a writer projects what he or she believes to be what the artist had in mind and then tears the work down when it doesn’t meet that projected idea. The stuff with vocals is not really very different from his other work. The guy’s just making really good music.

and Mancuerd, why you always gotta be sniffing ‘round my butt?

I think the chords shifts and his vocals are superb as well! However I felt that he could have developed the bridge section between 2:17 and 2:44 a lot more. I understand that he wants that piano to pounce at these silent moments but it felt a little tediously drawn out. Otherwise I love this piece!

“The album is definitely interesting, but it’s something I want to like more than I actually like.”

That’s pretty much exactly how I feel about this. It’s one of those things where the insane hype surrounding this release set my expectations too high, or something.

It’s decent/listenable, but not totally blowing my mind. Sounds a bit like a combination of Burial and Jamie Lidell on sleeping pills.

mount kimbie does it better

Brad, I envy you being able to listen to this music with a fresh set of ears, and no preconceptions. However, living in the UK and being aware of popular music culture, that’s impossible for me. It would also be rather disengenuous of me not to mention JB’s hyped status in a piece like this.

I think you are projecting into this review - I make no presumptions as to what JB should sound like, merely commentary that his first full length album sounds different than his previous singles.

And I still stand by the notion that he needs to write better songs. They don’t have to be Bohemian Rhapsody, just better than the ones here.

same for me. he just needs better song writing. the best 2 songs on the album are coverversions (yes wilhelm scream too).