Head to Head: Round 7
James Blake Ian Mercer
James Blake David Pickart
Illustration by Sam Watson Due to James Blake’s reputation as a highly exI feel a strange brand of respect for James Blake that is much like my opinion of the show Twin Peaks. Both perimental artist, I started listening to his debut album pieces of art never make any compositional or structural with the expectation of having my musical sensibilities sense, but the sheer creativity of their absurdity is enough challenged. This turned out to be a fair judgment - in terms of instrumentation and structure, the album is into keep me from turning away. Take, for example, “The Wilhelm Scream” and deed full of curveballs. What I didn’t expect, however, “I Never Learnt to Share.” Throughout these tracks, the was that an album as experimental as James Blake could smallest kernels of R&B melody are ceaselessly repeat- also be so mind-numbingly boring. The album’s tedium stems from two main sources: ed while James slowly builds straight-up strange beats underneath. The former becomes a reverb-soaked echo Blake’s repetitive songwriting style and his unwillingness chamber while the latter becomes a deformed fist-pump- to depart from his signature sleepy production aesthetic. ing techno banger, but the completely-at-odds gospel In terms of songwriting, to quote Buster Bluth, it seems vocals from the start are never abandoned. This struc- like James Blake “gets off on being withholding.” He has turing (coupled with utterly unpredictable percussion) a beautiful voice, but he chops and re-pitches it beyond shouldn’t work in theory, but its underlying creativity in recognition. He’s a talented musician, but he sticks mostly to stabbing out dissonant chords on an electric piano. execution keeps the project sincerely enjoyable. On the vocal side, the album employs some of Likewise, he could probably write a full verse melody, but the best auto-tune that I can think of. This praise isn’t he usually just writes a few bars and repeats them for sevexactly difficult to earn, but it should still be recognized eral minutes. Blake’s production style also wears out its welbecause of the fact that Blake is one of the few to have found the secret to its use: moderation. He’ll layer many come quite quickly on the album. The atmosphere of vocal tracks on top of one another, but only auto-tune hazy synths and glitched-out drum machines works well one or two. It’s an effective tactic that gives his voice res- for the first few tracks, but the rest of the album is just more of the same. I wouldn’t mind it as much if the music onance without descending into T-Pain territory. Sadly, the album doesn’t have much of an arc to was a little bit more lively, but each track drags along at it. The best tracks are the first three; there are four weak the same sluggish pace. This patient rhythm is integral interludes, and by the end, it’s lost quite a bit of steam. to Blake’s sound, but it makes it hard for me to enjoy his Luckily, the singles are capable of standing alone, so music for more than a few songs at a time. don’t be afraid to cherry-pick. My Verdict: Pacing aside, James Blake is a strong R&B? Electronic? Gospel? album that is worth a listen, if only because of the ineffability of its genre and originality of its style. Labeling it is pointless, so just let James’ croon wash over you.
7
My Verdict: Although James Blake’s style is undoubtedly unique, it’s not one that can sustain my interest for the duration of a full album. As one of the slowest-moving records I know, I’m tempted to try listening to James Blake when I need help falling asleep. I’d just be worried about what sort of dreams I’d have.
