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It has a lot to say, but you don't. Innovation is not a key factor to the quality of music, nor is the word of the almighty and extremely intelligent staff writers on Pitchfork.com.
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OK, the last song is good. It doesn't make up for an entire album of dullardry. As Pitchfork says, the obvious comparison is Jamie Lidell, and James Blake comes out so, so much the worse for it. This album has nothing to say.
I'm always open to discussion and people's thoughts but when it comes to this type of stuff Pitchfork is widely known for not knowing what the fuck they're talking about. Lidell is a comparison yes, but I doubt the fine writers of p4k would've thought that up if Blake hadn't told them himself
Cheers Xeno
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
Really? I'm calling bullshit on this one.
I had to listen up to "Limit To Your Love" to find a good song, and that's a cover. This album is mildly interesting, but it breaks no new ground, and is pretty dull overall. To Care (Like You) is a cool song, but in an objective sense isn't innovative at all.
Granted, it should probably warrant a second, third and probably fourth listen, but on first listen, this album is a waste of time.
OK, the last song is good. It doesn't make up for an entire album of dullardry. As Pitchfork says, the obvious comparison is Jamie Lidell, and James Blake comes out so, so much the worse for it. This album has nothing to say.
LOOK AT ME LOOK AT ME I HAVE AN OPINION
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
album isn't a 4.5 and it isnt a 3.5
it's pretty much the fouriest 4 i've ever 4'd
| | | Album Rating: 2.0 | Sound Off
So whilst nobody likes Pitchfork, which is fair enough, that is the only part that anyone has fixated on. That was probably my mistake.
Deviant: If I had stated the opinion without mentioning Pitchfork, would it have carried more weight? Fact of the matter is, Limit To Your Love does remind me a lot of Lidell, as does the whole album. I haven't seen/heard where James Blake makes the comparison himself.
Alright, leaving aside the comparison, James Blake seems to be going for a minimalist vibe. Fine. The best parts of the album are where he leaves the music to its own devices. Unluck is spoiled by the interference of Autotune. Wilhelms scream, by comparison, is much better for the restraint. The space left is pregnant with anticipation, and is so much more interesting for it, and ultimately results in more tension and greater release later in the song.
Unfortunately, come I Never Learnt To Share, the first minute or two of the song is marred by pointless autotune related fucketry. The rest is quite cool, but nothing special.
Lindesfarne I is truly a waste of time and hard drive space.
II would be better without autotune fucking it up. As an aside, I haven't got anything against autotune as such, but I feel the album would be a better body of work in, if you like, a rawer state. I can think of no point in the album where the use of autotune actually enhances the music.
And here we reach Limit To Your Love. I was perhaps hasty in stating there was no good song up until this point, but it's not a great first half.
It's an atmospheric album to be sure, but atmosphere is but one ingredient that is required for an album to be great.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
tl;dr
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Alright, leaving aside the comparison, James Blake seems to be going for a minimalist vibe. Fine. The best parts of the album are where he leaves the music to its own devices. Unluck is spoiled by the interference of Autotune. Wilhelms scream, by comparison, is much better for the restraint. The space left is pregnant with anticipation, and is so much more interesting for it, and ultimately results in more tension and greater release later in the song.
I'm a little confused by this. Are you saying that you feel a greater sense of anticipation in this song because it's essentially his voice unaffected? Also, contrary to popular belief, there is apparently* next to no autotune on this album, it's all put through a vocoder. I can see why certain people won't be able to find any joy with this album, and that's fine. To me, this is James Blake making an album for him and no one else. The fact that other people are going to hear it is just a bonus
*I read this somewhere in an interview, which I'm sure I can track down if needed
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
there is actually a dearth of autotune on here. listen to it. yeah his voice is changed around but all vocal tweaks =/= autotune.
i love the way he can make such spacious sounding tracks that are still really tight (not in a bro that was tight sense but in the original sense of the word)
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yo dat ass is tight sonnnn
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
this albums fucking chill as bro
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
fucking tight as bro
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
"To Care (Like You) is a cool song, but in an objective sense isn't innovative at all."
In An Objective Sense
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
Fellas, fellas, fellas. It's turning into Cspan in here.
Just chill out tightly bros.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0 | Sound Off
"Perhaps all of this was to be expected, as its been documented already how quickly Blake discards and moves on."
Should probably be "it's".
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
this is so tasty
| | | Album Rating: 4.5
I think my favorite aspect of this is how the vocals seem completely unaware of the instrumentation behind them
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I like that Eno
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I started off really loving the first half of the album, but now my favorites are I Mind and Why Don't You Call Me. The funky tribe-like beat that kicks in the middle of I Mind is soooo awesome. Honestly my favorite album in a very long time. And the final part on I never learnt to share still continues to turn my brain into mush, in a good way.
| | | Album Rating: 4.0
keeps getting better.
and eno that description is perfect.
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I'm still surprised this is the only review for the album
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