James Blake's eponymous debut is probably the most discussed album of the last 6 months, and set to be among the best of the next 12. It's kinda hard to comprehend his metamorphosis from electro-acoustic dubstep outsider in 2009 to urban blues hero in 2011, but one thing has become clearly apparent: this is one artist with a consistently arresting musical vision. He's been compared to Jamie Woon, but for our money Blake's sound is light years ahead in so many respects. His awareness of ultra-modern R&B, dubstep and electronica production techniques, coupled with a sensitivity for stunning spatial detailing and a feel for purposefully, potently skewed melodies and jarring harmonics marks him out as a singular talent. We'd make a comparison between their vocals, but even that doesn't stretch very far! And it's really those vocals which elevate this album beyond his earlier 12"s, now fully revealed from the tenderised, jigsaw-like snippets which peppered the likes of 'The Bells Sketch' and some of Mount Kimbie's best moments. He studied music at Goldsmith's so man obviously knows his chops, but his openness to autotune and other vocal trickery on the melted blues of opener 'Unluck', the ultra subtle stereo fluctuations in 'The Wilhelm Scream' or heavily applied in 'Lindisfarne I & II' are so unconventional with a voice like his but deployed so deftly that we can see this becoming the standard for kids beyond the reaches of R&B/Dancehall very soon, if he's not already set the change in motion. All of that said, the unadorned piano and vocals of 'Give Me My Mouth' stands out a mile, reiterating his talent in sharp relief.
A1 Tep And The Logic 2:42
A2 Unluck 3:00
A3 The Wilhelm Scream 4:37
B1 I Never Learnt To Share 4:51
B2 Lindisfarne I 2:42
B3 Lindisfarne II Producer, Recorded By, Written-By, Performer - Rob McAndrews 3:01
C1 Limit To Your Love Written-By - Feist, Jason 'Gonzales' Charles Beck* 4:36
C2 Give Me My Month 1:56
C3 To Care (Like You) 3:52
D1 Why Don't You Call Me 1:35
D2 I Mind 3:31
D3 Measurements 4:19
D4 You Know Your Youth 2:20
