Universal, 2011
http://jamesblakemusic.com/
"James Blake" is the acclaimed debut album by English electronic musician and song-writer James Blake. The album has been listed in most compilations of album of the year for 2011, and has excellent reviews. That was, precisely, what made me get it.
If I had to define the album in three words I would say: Chaos is beautiful. Indeed, the sound that Blake has created is a blissful retro-futuristic chaos, like a cohesive mix of the electronic experimentation of the 1980s, modern jazz improvisation, classic blues, and contemporary Indie sounds. Blake's sound sounds like the music of the humans of the 22nd century or the sound that mermaids and mermen listen to when dancing in their oceanic realms - enveloping, intimate, and wonderfully odd. It is not just the music. Blake's voice is very colourful and textured, very intimate, broken and masculine. An explosive mix.
Unfortunately, ignoring the lyrics of the album would be unfair in a review, as a song is, well, both music and lyrics. Simple, no? Read or listen to the lyrics of "Unlock", "The Wilhelms Scream", or "I Never Learnt To Share" (lyrics: "My brother and my sister don't speak to me, But I don't blame them" that is all), just to give you three examples. Can you ignore them when hearing the album? I cannot. In a way they help you to keep in trance. Blake has turned himself into a modern chanteur for disco-dance dervishes that need little wordiness and the melody to keep them dancing around entranced. He could have brought us there by just using his music and voice and emitting guttural lah-lah-lahs or oh-oh-ohs. It is the sound and colour of his voice what will captivate you, not his lyrics, as they lack not just in words, but also in emotion. In other words, Blake's wonderful sound doesn't transcend itself. In a way, it is a bit narcissistic and even onanistic (with all my respects!), deeply beautiful, empty at times, with glimpses of a depth and lyricism that I would have liked developed and dug in.
Still this is a very good album that sets a foundation-stone for modern musicians and sound-makers. The sort of music that the future is waiting for.
