James Blake [CD]

Much of this music lives in the hinterland between melody and silence. There's almost too much silence and not enough music, but in the end the subtle and plaintive melodies win out - just. He's probably a genius, but he could be a used car salesman. I think he's probably a genius.

I love it when reviews vary. Two days old, and it's already either 'hugely disappointing' or 'a brilliant debut'. I'm with the latter on this. I think this album is a gem.

I became aware of James Blake through Klavierwerke, which kind of insinuated itself into my consciousness. Not this. It's been absolutely instant, and I can't stop listening to it.

The overall sound is tremendous - in the same territory perhaps as Burial's Untrue. Blake's voice evokes, when untreated, Antony Hegarty, Justin Vernon, and of course Al Green. Simple phrases are repeated, heightening their impact, and the tunes are delicately accompanied by a range of keyboards, from smoky blues piano to electronica which, through their faltering, sometimes almost sobbing sounds, heighten the emotion even further. Styles range from heartbreaking soul to uplifting gospel. And there's even a hint of prog rock about the keyboards: some Nice piano noodling, some ELP synth squealings. Bizarre and intriguing.

Listening to this album is, for me, a raw and intense experience. Even the quiet bits. It's like eavesdropping on someone's innermost thoughts; hopes, fears, doubts, weaknesses. Picking up on misunderstandings and broken relationships. Yet it is so beautiful, so self aware, so laden with love, how could everything not turn out ok in the end?

TWO WEEKS LATER

The review situation is still fascinating. Those who low star it can be broken down into two types. 1. Those who have heard his previous dubstep material and are disappointed by this more soul-based album. 2. Those who like Limit to Your Love and/or The Wilhelm Scream and are disappointed it isn't all like that.

For me, the album just gets better and better. I wonder how many of the negative reviewers simply stated their case a little too early. It is a real grower. Loved the review that said it made her head feel as though it was full of metal shavings. Absolutely! Though anyone who uses the term Emperor's New Clothes - the lazy catch-all dismissal for anything someone doesn't get - should be banished to cliche hell.

Someone, can't remember who, mentioned Gonjasufi - though the reference now seems to have been removed. I checked it out, and love it, so thanks for that, whoever you are. I'd contend, however, it's possible to love that and James Blake's remarkable album.

James Blake is a precocious talent and arrived with a large splash following his stunning cover of Feist's beautifully elegiac "Limit to your love" included here in all its slow burning glory. As an artist he is a disciple of the "less is more" school with this debut album characterized by a predominant sparsity in certain songs often stripping out layers of instrumentation in favour of voice, bass loops and synth (and in the case of Lindisfarne 1 a straight vocoderised acappella)

The album soulful opener "Unluck" does remind of Bon Iver's "Woods" from last years "Blood Bank EP" with its use of vocoder style vocals but ultimately differs with its deep clicks and an minimalist intensity. It is followed by "Wilhelm's scream" a song that has been distributed freely on music blogs and one that has spent so much time on my PC speakers it could claim squatting rights. The huge debt, which Blake owes to dubstep, is revealed and builds to a digital intensity around the continual refrain of the lines "I don't know about my love anymore/all I know is I'm falling". This should be the starting point for the curious listener. "I never learned to share" is again based around a repetitive lyric but with all sort of electronic shenanigans going on in the background almost suggesting a church like ambience.

Blake's debut is often an introspective and moody piece of work, which can make The XX look like the Beach Boys in the fun stakes. But this is not a criticism; with some songs drifting along at a snails pace it can lead you to think that they may have finished, yet it gives the album a Sinatra like "wee small hours" quality. This will mean that Blake's debut will primarily be a late night feast. It is an album, which evolves through its slow revealing beats, and has a deeply intricate core based around sonic landscapes and truly extraordinary songs. The glacial "To care (like you)" is a duet that feels that Blake is just about keeping the ball rolling. Yet with its beautiful quivering auto tuning and double micro beats it is a stellar highlight. The debt to Bon Iver re-emerges on the albums closer "Measurements" and it is a testimony to the youthful brilliance of Blake that he can evoke the atmosphere of 2008s best album "For Emma" and yet carve out a distinctive niche, which solely belongs to him. The liquidly percussive loops of Lindisfarne 2 could seem repetitive to some but sit down and really listen to its underpinning beauty.

Blake has been criticized in some quarters as the acceptable face of dubstep, yet as someone who loved and reviewed one of 2010 best albums Scuba's "Triangulation" an LP of Berlin influenced beats, I would argue that the genre is big enough to have many strings to its bow. There are also echoes here of great artists particularly Justin Vernon but also Lewis Taylor, David Sylvain, Anthony Hegarty, Burial and Panthu de Prince (the towering "I mind" would have sat beautifully on his recent "Black Noise" album"). I wager that Blake's debut will be a true Marmite album loved by some despised by others, thus a warning - if you seek music pumped full of adrenalin and sweaty excitement avoid this like the plague. On the other hand if you want an album by an artist taking on board and developing a range of influences, trying to do something different with them and largely succeeding then this if for you. Blake has created a template for new music in 2011 with this startling debut and for once the BBC New Year predictions turn out to bang on.