James Blake "Assume Form"

Jame Blake's fourth studio album Assume Form is a stark transition from the usual haunting, melancholic loneliness that we know and love him for. Blake is in love, and seemingly at peace with his life more than ever before. This breath of fresh air comes after a move across the pond from London to LA, and an impressive amount of contributions to some of your favorite artists projects. Blake's been busy; featured on The Black Panther soundtrack "Kings Dead" and "Bloody Waters," Beyonce's Lemonade, Jay-z's 4:44, and Travis Scott's Astroworld. Whether he's writing, engineering, composing, or lending out his vocals, Blake's easy cool and dark tenderness is something that always translates through to the music. His ability to be so well rounded no matter if he's the main artist or simply a contributor is a quality that a lot of producers, writers, and even artists vie for.

Since Blake's last album "The Colour in Anything" a lot has changed, the rain cloud that looms over his head seems to have lifted (although I'm sure it's never too far away). In the opening title track James defines the theme of this album; he's shedding anxieties and learning to become more reachable, trying to get out of his head and ride the wave that comes with a new relationship and falling in love. He's romantic and liberated, affectionate and joyous, but still aware and in control of his demons.

A couple of things I thought were interesting about this album: in the description section of the album info on Apple Music, James goes into detail about his thought process behind every track. I loved this little extra mile he went to describe to people what each song meant, or why he chose to collaborate with a certain artist. It was a great way to get clarity into the mysterious mind that is James Blake. Something else I loved was how he plays with his sounds. There is no other artist with his sound, he has truly created a unique aesthetic. Thinking back to some of his past collaborations (like: RZA, Chance The Rapper, Kendrick) he's always had a knack for incorporating hip hop influences into his sound. (Check out my favorite track off of Colour in Anything, "Choose Me" which is a great example of how he utilizes his many musical influences). By including Andre 3000, Metro Boomin, and Travis Scott on this album he was able to dive deeper into his experimentation with hip hop. But the most important thing to mention is Andre 3K's verse on "Where's The Catch." Menacing and full of paranoia, I thought it was cool how Andre 3K opens up about his struggles with mental health and anxiety, an issue that James has always been outspoken about.

James Blake creates a fantasy world sonically that's reminiscent of a dark fairytale, haunting but hopeful.

Check out my track-by-track run down below!