When James Blake first debuted back in 2010 with a string of impressive EP's, he caught the eyes of everyone who stuck around to pay attention. The chopped-and-screwed and colorful, energetic spirit that the EP's honed in on won the hearts of anyone who listened. The songs each felt personal to whomever listened, from the bubbly, impending-Optimus Prime-attack sounding synths on The Bells Sketch, to the dark and cold overtones that overtook Klavierwerke, and the Kelis-sampled standout club banger on CMYK. I don't think I needed to continue after "Kelis-sampled". The EP's seemed to make a name for Blake in the world of electronic music, but with the arrival of James Blake, the album, in 2011, everything you knew about the London-based producer should be thrown out the window, because this guy just made one of the most intimate singer-songwriter-esque albums of that year. The album's skeletal, yet attractive surface successfully pulled off whatever genre-bending endeavor it took on with flying colors. On James Blake's 2013 return, Overgrown, we find that we still can't put a finger on what Blake truly is: Is he a prevalent electronic producer? Is he a singer-songwriter? Is he the next prince of R&B? The album proves to us that he successfully achieves all three, but just can't decide which one he wants to really be, dipping his toes into each pool, but not staying long enough to grow comfortable.
Ironically enough, the album's title, Overgrown, does not compliment the music. Many themes on the album feel very undercooked, and a lot of the songs seem to end before they began. Even within the first 30 seconds of the album, we hear these beautiful drone-like looped piano chord that pair angelically with Blake's signature falsetto, a tone that would fit perfectly in his prior work. After a criminally short amount of time, the piano ends and a beat begins, and Blake begins the song, completely abandoning the initial idea he once had. Although the section isn't really missed, a more fleshed out track would have been a better choice to begin the album with. As the album progresses and the song variety goes every which way, we become slightly confused. The tracks become much more straightforward and the album is undoubtedly more R&B influenced, but he definitely seemed to forget about everything that made his 2011 debut so memorable and addicting. Although Blake croons his heart out yet again on this album, nothing truly feels personal. I don't want to say the tracks seem rushed, but they certainly don't feel as enthralling or emotionally overbearing as Blake's prior work. He seemed to have made the most straightforward collection of songs of his career here. Apart from the surprisingly incredibly well made RZA featured track "Take A Fall For Me", or the dark, danceable looped epic that is "Voyeur", it's best to treat this album as a fresh, inventive and innovative contemporary R&B album, which is something we need in today's Top 40 drenched pop music.
Forget who James Blake used to be, because apparently, that seems to be what he's trying to vicariously through his music. Across the three year peak of Blake's career, he has shown us that he is musically capable of becoming the master of just about everything he puts his hands on. Although Blake's latest effort comes off clumsy as a whole, he still shows incredible potential for what he can accomplish the rising world of electronic music. Across the span of three years and we see what Blake can do here, we can only imagine what the rest of his career has in store for him. I'll surely be tuning in.
7/10
No comments:
Post a Comment