Artist: James Blake
Album: Overgrown
Genre: Electronic
Label: Republic

Ghostly and consuming, James Blake’s sophomore effort Overgrown has a title that belies how careful and precise it is. There’s nothing uncontrolled or excessive about this album, a masterful piece of minimalism whose gentle pace disguises how much work goes into creating something so crystalline and precise. The album unfolds in a curious sonic landscape. It’s hushed, serene, inviting, and deathly quiet, but extremely intense at the same time. The sounds drift across it like voices from another world, but the echoes and effects and instruments feel as real as they do otherworldly. Blake has a very particular and unusual skill, managing to create music where everything is tightly controlled but feels effortless. Given how technical this is and how much of it relies on effects, his ability to add only the most decorative of notes and instruments is quite astonishing. It feels as though he has created a highly personal other world through which he shares his most intimate moments, a fantastical realm where he controls the boundaries of what enters and leaves. It’s as entrancing and abstract as a painting, but as vivid and alive as a video.

It goes without saying that in a world such as this, everything is extremely slow-burning and intense. Overgrown moves at a gentle, luxuriating pace and invites the listener to be patient and allow the pensive notes to envelop them. Those of a more demanding disposition mightn’t find it as enchanting as others, but if you give it the time and indulgence it deserves you will find yourself being swept off your feet. Central to all the songs is Blake himself – his voice is a ghostly, shrill presence that cuts through the various folds of sound. It’s the type of voice that could wear on a listener after a time, but here fits the music so perfectly that it adds to the elegance of the piece. “Overgrown,” the opening track, is a captivating introduction to the album. Intensely compelling despite how little seems to happen, Blake anchors it with a raw and poignant performance, balancing the mixture of organic and electronic sounds. “I Am Sold” has a hidden strength despite its glassy, mournful air. It’s darker and eerie, but it has a distinct glamour to it as well. The background music is stormier and more dramatic and cuts through the other instruments to enhance and deepen the mood. “Dim” is one of the finest songs on the record. With a distinct twinge of gospel, the backing vocals echo like a choir over saddened, pleading lyrics and a defiantly bright piano. It is elegant and gracefully realised, with the gorgeous vocal work doing much for atmosphere and effect.

Blake experiments with heavier, harsher sounds on other tracks, producing a lofty mix of grittiness and tranquillity. These tracks stand out somewhat for how different they are from the others, injecting a cold slab of realism and reality to an otherwise ambient landscape. “Take A Fall For Me” in particular catches the eye. RZA’s guest vocals offset Blake’s dulcet tones, mixing urban and ornamental for a song that’s as suspenseful and bold as it is imaginative. “Digital Lion” uses percussion to add grit to the mould. It’s more rhythmic and gruelling than on the other tracks, like something trying to break free or take definite form amidst all the abstract sounds. The song is more arresting and dynamic as a result and feels a lot more adventurous and exciting.

While it’s safe to say this kind of music won’t endear everyone, Overgrown is a rare piece of brilliance in the ambient/electronic fold for how rich and entrancing it is. Sublimely made and vivid in its evocation of mood and atmosphere, it’s a testament to Blake’s particular skills.

SCORE: 8/10
Review written by Grace Duffy

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