James Blake review by Jessa Hart

In the wake of such a magnitude of anticipation surrounding the release of James Blake’s second album, ‘Overgrown’, it’s been a real joy to find that the lofty expectations of both fans and critics alike have by no means been in vain.
All too often it seems, such a swift rise to fame, brings with it the bitter aftertaste of an equally rapid decline into the abyss, where countless other rising stars have plummeted back into obscurity. 

James Blake review by Jessa Hart - UK Writer



However, this, I’m certain, will not be the story for James Blake, whose follow-up to his highly accomplished self-titled debut album of 2011; stands to prove that not all hurried recognition of young talent need burn out once the hype has subsided.


With only two days between the release of ‘Overgrown’ and his live performance at the Manchester Academy 2, I embark upon the gig with six full listens under my belt and the quiet excitement of a person about to witness the symbiosis of an artist with their creative spirit. Taking to the stage, Blake is met with the rapturous applause of a room brimming with ardent fans, and reciprocates the acclamation with the unassuming modesty of a young man still acclimatizing themselves to their new-founded fame.


Accompanied by his guitarist and drummer, Blake provides a set list of changing moods; from the haunting beauty ‘Our Love Comes Back’ in which Blake’s soulful cries conjure the emotions of a grief-stricken lover yearning for that which he has lost, to the warm electronic groove of ‘Life Round Here’.


As would be expected, Blake’s version of Fiest’s ‘Limit to Your Love’; the song which marked his cross-over from producer to stage performer; receives a huge response from the audience, as does the magnificent ‘Wilhelm Scream’ with it’s hypnotic down-tempo melancholy, gradually developing into a cacophony of bass distortion.


Blake completes the main set with new fan favourite, ‘Retrograde’; a deeply soulful vocal performance strung out above a classic hip-hop beat, with the siren-like wail of an old Prophet keyboard whining its way towards a sensational climax.


After gesturing his thanks to the crowd, Blake returns to their pleas for an two track encore, including my personal highlight of the evening; ‘Voyeur’, a beat and bass-driven house track which swells into a rave-like euphoria, followed by a beautiful cover of Joni Mitchell’s heart-wrenching ‘A Case of You’. Within this encore alone, James Blake illustrates his extraordinary scope; raising the crowd into an emotional state of bliss, then in one breath shattering them with the broken despair of a woeful lament. Blake expresses himself with a quality of soul far beyond his mere 24 years, and is already the master of his art-form; doubtless to say we will be watching the journey of exceptional young man for many more years to come. 

Listen to some of James Blake:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOT2-OTebx0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6PcFFUm5I 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXc8spJaEFo

James Blake review by Jessa Hart - UK Writer

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