James Blake - Assume Form

7.4

Though more often than not too numb in love to vary subject matters, and besides the quite unnecessary traptronica beats here and there, James Blake continues to deliver beautiful, sumptuously introspective and shyly experimental pop-soul like few others can.

Highlights

- James' voice seems crackling, playful and addictively emotional all throughout.

- As on any of his productions, the instrumental and vocal layers are glorious.

- He managed to canalise his newly-found happiness and still maintain his usual somber, almost ghostly-like perspective on life.

Lowlights

- There are some tracks that don't reach up to the rest of the record's proficiency.

- Repetition has always functioned on his favour, but on several tracks here it does not.

- The collaborations (the one with Rosalía, specifically) could have been better exploited.

Standouts

- Don't Miss It

- Tell Them

- I'll Come Too

Country: UK

Released: January 18, 2019

Length: 48:12