On James Blake’s second full-length album, the London-based dubstep-producer-turned-balladeer successfully blends cutting-edge electronic production with traditional singer-songwriting.
The classically trained pianist made clear his aspirations to move away from the more instrumental and sample-based music of his earlier work when he released a cover of the classic Joni Mitchell song “A Case of You” in 2011.
On that track, the artist’s lone voice and piano-playing were more than enough to convey the heavy atmosphere that he previously relied on electronics to attain. And on his debut album that year, the primordial traces of traditional songwriting could be heard, like in the way he used his repeating mantra-like vocals as a center with which to build decadent electronic slow-burners around, as on single “The Wilhelm Scream.”
On “Overgrown,” he has fully integrated his singer-songwriting aspirations with the electronic sound he built his name on, and the result is one of his most fully realized releases so far.
This success is heavily indebted to the singer’s vocal prowess. Blake could easily be placed alongside other Brits like Amy Winehouse and Adele in the way his tone effortlessly evokes the smokiness of 1960s soul and jazz. And his lyrics here are similarly sultry and emotive.
While the album dabbles in countless genres too myriad to name, the songs are essentially R&B in vocal style, with a heavy emphasis on texture. The choir-boy purity of his vocals along with his warped Hammond organs and delicate piano-playing even lend his songs a liturgical feel at times.
Blake’s two sides are most successfully displayed on “Life Round Here,” which seems to be just as influenced by Destiny’s Child as it is by Aphex Twin, which is quite a feat in itself. The track features a giddy beat and velvet-smooth intonations that climax in a pyrotechnic display of synths, with the unusually upbeat Blake lyric, “Everything feels like touchdown on a rainy day,” as the delirious refrain.
And while there is a definite focus on Blake’s vocal ability, those looking for more electronic goodness in the vein of his early output will not be disappointed. His textures here evoke forces of nature, whether it’s his thunderous sub-bass or his huge, oceanic washes of white noise. The sounds always manage to seem big and impossibly rich.
On “Take a Fall For Me,” Blake is joined by Wu-Tang Clan mastermind RZA for a guest rap verse, injecting some much needed variety and lending momentum to the overall flow of the album. The other guest spot is filled by Brian Eno — which is one hell of a nod of approval for any aspiring electronic artist. Eno, the father of ambient music, lends his production skills to standout “Digital Lion,” one of the more propulsive and energetic cuts here with huge, seething synth chords and hallucinogenic vocal layering that well live up to Eno’s name.
The album feels like a victory lap in many ways for the artist, who has successfully pulled off a transition that most would condemn for even being hypothesized. It’s a transition he began on his self-titled debut two years ago and one he resolves here with utter grace.
Daniel Catalanello is a 20-year-old English literature junior from Baton Rouge.
