16 March 2011
James Blake’s eponymously titled first full-length proves the increasing irrelevance of backing bands and vocalists. The BBC Sound of 2011 runner-up uses cut and paste samplings, voice tripling and the wondrous world of synths to create a beautifully depressing yet immensely impressive debut record.
Album opener, Unluck is like hearing music underwater for the first time. The music and vocals swim through the piano line all hazy and out of focus, much like the blurred self-portrait on the album cover.
On tracks like second single, The Wilhelm Scream and Give Me My Mouth, the 22-year-old producer's vocals may be repetitive but should really be heard as if they are notes moving in and around the grainy synths and piano. His voice takes on the guise of an instrument and because of his sometimes lyrical failings, should be heard as such.
Conversely, some synths take on a humanistic feel, principally evident in the track, I Never Learnt To Share where the intro sounds like a giant walking through a wet forest, it may seem like I have a highly exaggerative imagination but James Blake has that effect on you.
The only confusion with the iron-willed record is on parts I and II ofLindisfarne, which beg the question; must he always hide his voice behind a mask of synths? Understandably, in a heavily digital reliant world we have come to expect this sort of experimentation on most albums, but Blake has you searching for his true voice in this track instead of enjoying his metamorphosis into a, well… robot. Another incertitude is the fact part I and II do merge together perfectly, perhaps his fear to let loose and have one indulgent track on the album was curbed by thoughts of instilling his minimalist approach that travels over the other tracks.
Blake’s first single and Feist cover, Limit To Your Love is an ode to relationships that turn sour and is one of the only tracks that strip his bluesy voice back its true nature. Although he does hold back with his delivery, he loses his little-white-boy-behind-a-laptop image and reveals himself accessible to a wider audience.
The album closer, Measurements prove to all computer nerds and Nigel’s that they don’t need a hoard of backing vocalists to create a gospel choir ambience. Blake triples his voice to create the same effect in this beautiful final track that encompasses gentle repetition with an even more subtle bass line. Measurements, sans drums, at four minutes and 20 seconds is much like the album as a whole, a collection of alter boy blues and bliss.
No comments:
Post a Comment