James Blake – “Overgrown”

The second album of the 24 years old London producer starts like this: “I don't want you to know / I took it with me / But when things are thrown away like they are daily / Time passes in the constant state / So if that is how it is/ I don't wanna be a star / But a stone on the shore / Long door, frame the wall / When everything's overgrown”, from its song album-title Overgrown, which is much better than his debut “ James Blake” that offered only one single heard outside of England “there’s a limit to your love” - it's not even good.

Criticism like this one is arrogance. “Retrogade” is a new approach of Blake to dub step sound and minimal electronic, the powerful explosion of the chorus, the ups and downs beats with his whispering voice, resulted in a perfect single.  In “Take a Fall for Me”, Blake invited rapper RZA from Wu-Tang Clan and it turned out to be a cool rap track. “Dlm” and “Our Love Comes Back” are both depressing but “Digital Lion”, in turn, makes you step into your dancing shoes, also “Voyeur”.

Blake is something special. Great show in Coachella 2013, in the stage there were drums in the middle, James Blake himself on the right side (piano, PC, sampler and vocals) and on the left side a synthesizer, drum machine, music sequencer and sometimes a guitar.  Nevertheless, the tracks don’t sound the same live as they do recorded. I’d love to see Blake in a different stage. I saw him once in Optimus Alive 2011, but again the stage was unfamiliar, and the afternoon time wasn’t helping, only hundreds watching - a pity. 

He isn't a rock start but he does a good job exploring new electronic beats, so here's a  4/5.