Artist: James Blake

Album: ‘James Blake’

Record label: Atlas Recordings/A&M Records

Release date: Feb. 8, 2011

Soundwaves: 4.5/5

Sounds like: Dubstep for people who don’t like dubstep

 

Anyone who’s stepped foot near a dance floor in the past year has reason to believe dubstep, an electronic genre known for its signature overwhelming basslines and reverberating drum patterns, has developed into a new wave of mainstream music. As dubstep bumped and grinded its way to a following in the United States (having originated in London), the sweeping electronic arrangements that were the genre’s trademark got loud all of a sudden.

The heavy basslines and driving pounds of drum machines boom to eardrum-rupturing decibels as dubstep-influenced singles keep climbing the Top 40 charts. But across the pond, one artist is making a name for himself not with a bang (in the American way) but a whisper, taking dubstep back to its more humble roots.

After a halcyon year of releasing critically acclaimed EPs, London’s very own James Blake put out his self-titled debut album, a brilliantly soft and symphonic record. Though it might not be the same sound listeners would expect as the next dance floor anthem, Blake’s minimalist dubstep shows off the genre’s sensitive side with 11 subtly crafted tracks.

‘Unluck’ starts the album on a soft note and, with the first loop of tapping drums, invites listeners to kick up their feet and relax. However, Blake’s John Legend-style vocal delivery is understated by the electronic effects forced onto the instrumentation. The track breezes by, perfectly content without hitting any crescendos in the choruses but staying resolutely ambient instead.

Blake’s soulful songwriting shines on ‘The Wilhelm Scream.’ Although Auto-Tuning has been recklessly misused by most artists on the charts, Blake finds a way to segue electronic enhancement to mesh perfectly with his own vulnerable emotions. The cavernous bass notes of the track emphasize Blake’s hopelessly romantic lyrics about falling in love.

‘I Never Learnt to Share’ is an R&B song stripped down to its bare bones, minus sparingly used synthesizers and electronic effects, an effective pairing of synthetic pop stylings and heartstring-tugging gospel vocals. Blake stretches the middle of his album into a two-part suite with ‘Lindisfarne I’ and ‘Lindisfarne II,’ during which he layers his own voice to the point where he is essentially harmonizing with himself over an orchestral strings arrangement.

Blake reimagines singer and songwriter Feist’s ditty, ‘Limit to Your Love,’ with a wobbly reverberating bassline, rhythmic kick drums and syncopated piano parts that defy the rules and format set by dubstep. ‘Give Me My Month’ almost completely drops the dubstep vibe in favor of a two-minute Motown piano ballad that meanders into ‘To Care (Like You),’ a lonesome drum-machine-heavy track on which Blake duets with himself.

Blake doesn’t hesitate to reuse the ever-present vocoder on ‘Why Don’t You Call Me?’ a confident, piano-driven song with a whooshing bass that falls in and out of the instrumentation as Blake pleases. ‘I Mind’ is the first track to overuse the electronic effects, the ones Blake had made sure were loud and proud throughout the EP. Blake rebounds quickly with ‘Measurements,’ which ends the album on a slow-tempo and wistful note, easing off on the drum fills and heavy basses that were scattered throughout the course of the album.

Don’t expect Blake’s personal take on dubstep to be blaring from speakers at next weekend’s fraternity party. Rather, ‘James Blake’ is a record that is an intimate insight into the mind of dubstep’s brightest young songwriter. By stripping down the heavy electronics to their most raw components, Blake has brought dubstep back down to its emotionally wrenching roots, a soulful tour de force that requires patience and an open mind but is well worth the effort.

 

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Published on February 13, 2011 at 12:00 pm