Album Review: James Blake Makes Love “Assume Form”

James Blake’s Assume Form is sexy, and could be a call to arms for those trying to connect “motions” to “feelings,” which is one of the first lyrics the singer croons. His voice so murmurs feverishly what it is to be touched by someone body and soul, and you, completely, fall for it. Why not? If the ultimate goal in life is to be loved and loving, then James Blake makes you Assume Form.

Sonically, this album is pure pleasure. If he needs to have a little children chanting or synths fluttering like butterflies, HE WILL, and you will love it. He blends digital and acoustics to a create conglomerate of sounds that make Assume Form feel like the soundtrack to a movie called “Music.” It is as if Blake sees sound as a nature that, like love, can take whatever course it wants but will always share one, sole source: heart. Tracks like, “Are You In Love,” “Don’t Miss It,” and “Barefoot In The Park (feat Rosalia)” scintillate with the lust for love. 

James Blake understand that people want someone to want them, to enjoy them, and move with them. Lyrically, Blake’s verses pour like wine, and Blake is the fruit that makes them. You pick his words because they feel like emotions in movement, and he has a classic, Motown vocality with a modern, almost futuristic sonics. In taking elements of pop, soul, and R&B and jazzing them into a soundscape that feels unplaceable, the listener finds constancy through Blake’s voice, which is a brilliant move.

From Frank Ocean to Daniel Caesar or Sam Smith, people want light, male voices that could reach Marvin Gaye high notes with a Donny Hathaway emotionality. They want someone to make them feel love for its rawness, in both pain and euphoria, of which tracks like, “Into The Red,” “Tell Them,” and “Where’s The Catch (feat. Andre 3000) do. Through it all, Blake, literally, makes himself a listener’s consistent, which amplifies his voice as the main talent you need to know.  For More On James Blake Click Here.