Punk Rock Ist Nicht Tot

It seems at the ripe age of 21, Londoner James Blake can do no wrong recently, what with being placed on various polls for being the sound of 2011 and being tipped for big things by a number of well known DJ’s. 2011 sees the release of James’s first full length album. He’s been known for a while for being a dab hand on the old dubstep decks, and even though the album does take certain roots of the genre, this is something a little more special then just a few wob wob’s and dirty drops here and there. Opener ‘Unluck’ sets off the tone and pace of the album perfectly with a gorgeous peice of piano tinkling, paired off with his angelic like voice that will leave teen girls turning to goo in their seats. The only pro and/or con of the album is that to get the full effect of each song, you really have to play it louder than just ‘background music’. Especially in your car. There seems to be so much going on in the back of songs that if you decide to have this CD as background music, you don’t get the real melodies etc, and all you can hear is the slight tap of drum beats here and there. The best example of this would probably be the supposed second track ‘The Wilhelm Scream’. For me the stand out track has got to be ‘Limit To Your Love’, even though the whole album captures you into deep thought, LTYL really makes you realise just what this guy is capable of. Ambient? Yes, certainly. Chillout? Soo much more. Dubstep? Being a dubstep fan myself i’d say there’s room for some mean remixes due to the deep bass drops you’d find in tracks that Jakwob and Skream are capable of, but I wouldn’t say this is a dubstep album. It leaves a bitter sweet taste in your ears for further listens/dissecting.

Paula Longley

Out now on Atlas/A&M

Buy James Blake CDs from HMV

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