By: Lewis Dyson

Album – James Blake: James Blake

Label –Atlas / A&M

Release – Out now

Gays.co.uk Rating

James Blake was recently singled out as one of the country’s most promising musical artists in the BBC’s Sound of 2011 awards, coming runner-up to singer Jessies J. His eponymous debut LP sees the classically trained musician make a dub-step album. Intrigued yet? Well the resultant sound is something transcendent and wholly original. The music Mr Blake has crafted here escapes being pigeonholed in a particular genre and is fresher than a new pair of socks. It is a pleasing blend of electronica, synthpop and soul, something simultaneously alien, isolated, tender and moving.

What really stands out on this is album is the production. The musical arrangements are understated and pared down with the tracks often comprised of only a handful of echoes and beeps or a simple piano melody. The beats are off-kilter and unpredictable or sometimes not even there. Rather than creating something totally unlistenable, the synthetic sounds compliment the more organic piano segments in such an absorbing way that this album is sure to be on heavy rotation on iPods everywhere.

As for Blake’s voice, he makes heavy use of auto-tune processing which may put off some listeners still scarred by the sickly sugariness of Kanye West’s 808s and Heartbreaks. However, it is on tracks like Limit to Your Love and Give Me My Month where his voice is allowed to be free and unaltered that you really get a sense of the 21-year-old’s considerable talent. His singing is full of restrained beauty and quiet emotion.

The album was entirely recorded at Blake’s home – take that Daniel Bedingfield – but rather than sounding lo-fi, or like it was put together on a playstation, everything is polished and layered. It can truly be described as a solo effort with everything done by Blake himself. At times he mixes several different recordings of his voice together like on standout track To Care (Like You) which has Blake use his voice as part of the song’s percussion.

Lyrically, there is not a lot to choose from with a sparing use of words throughout and some songs featuring only one line being repeated like on The Wilhelm Scream. But far from being a hindrance, this allows the listener to focus on the music. The soundscapes contained in this album capture moods effectively whether through the distortion of the electronic noises or the harmonious tones of the keyboard and piano.

The decision to name the album James Blake is surely a reflection of the artist’s intent to present himself up front to the listener. His vocals are frequently alone yet they hold the songs together which creates a sense of vulnerability but at the same time warmth. The stripped down soulfulness of this album is both unconventional and refreshing. I implore you to give this album a listen.