Altered Zones

By Ian Nelson

James Blake's self-titled LP for A&M/Atlas is a lush study in space and restraint. Blake's voice is clearly his most powerful weapon, with the London singer/producer throwing himself into all-out croon-mode multiple times over the course of the album. The best examples of this are when he's at his most emotive, as in "I Never Learnt To Share", or the much-documented Feist cover, "Limit To Your Love". After four shorter releases (Air & Lack Thereof 12", The Bells Sketch 12", CMYK EP, and Klavierwerke EP), each showcasing one of the 22-year-old music student's creative sides, this one feels the most like a landscape. The pacing is slow and steady, with only a few peaks popping up along the smooth, easily digestible terrain.

For those eager to thrust Blake into the dubstep category, the LP will be a rude awakening. "To Care (Like You)" and "I Mind" reveal a continued affinity for rhythmic electronic music, but this offering has a lot less flair and a lot more finesse than anything we've heard from him before. These more delicate passages make for moments of almost unbearable tension, as in the steadily building buzz of album opener "Unluck". Shorter takes, like "Lindesfarne I" and "Give Me My Month", thrive on a quiet intimacy, though the latter finds him in the most melancholy of moods, almost aping Antony Hegarty. This album is best consumed whole-- all pristine and crisp, with density creeping in from silence at just the right moments.

James Blake is out February 7th on A&M/Atlas