James Blake stuns on latest album The Colour In Anything

At midnight last Thursday, James Blake unassumingly dropped his third album online. Standing at a majestic one hour and sixteen minutes, The Colour in Anything is by far his longest LP to date, and is gripping and haunting throughout.

In the three years since his last album, James Blake has audibly progressed both in terms of production value and vocal confidence. On his last two albums, Blake has already shown that he understands more than anyone else the art of building to a crescendo. But his production technique here reaches new sonic peaks, and he builds on his already-proven style without boring the listener. His music expertly juxtaposes the raw emotion of his voice with the filth of underground UK bass music; the mids and highs of his vocal vulnerability with the screwface-inducing lows of the underground; the classical piano of his upbringing with, among other things, a depraved, modulated foghorn.

“…Blake has already shown that he understands more than anyone else the art of building to a crescendo…”

The opener, ‘Radio Silence’, has been floating around online in the form of live performances for months, yet listening to the studio version for the first time feels like hearing an entirely new song. As with much of the record, Blake’s voice hovers over gentle piano accompaniment. A synth gradually builds in the background, while the fluttering hi-hats betray his hip-hop influences. A crescendo slowly creeps up, yet still takes you by surprise. ‘Two Men Down’ starts minimally, but then morphs into a calamitous ballad with futuristic white noise building in the background; sampled dog barks are scattered throughout.

Typically brooding. Image: Kmeron / Flickr

Tracks like ‘Timeless’, ‘Radio Silence’ and ‘Modern Soul’ provide the radio-fodder for the record, but without compromising musical integrity. It’s a formula Blake is used to, having achieved hits from his last two albums with ‘Retrograde’ and ‘Limit to Your Love’. But ‘Timeless’ is more than just a ridiculous tune, its lyrics are utterly haunting, and the chord progression is far more interesting than your standard Radio 1 A-list track. The drop takes you by surprise, and the tune continues to build, a repetitive high synth in the background bringing the filth. Kanye West was meant to feature on the track, but personally I think it stands tall without him.

“…the shiver-inducing collaboration with the Bon Iver front man ‘I Need a Forest Fire’ has to be one of the record’s strongest points…”

The album is much more than its loudest numbers, however. ‘Put That Away And Talk To Me’ exhibits Blake’s more experimental and tender side. A pitch-shifted vocal sample glitches in the background; “I want no pain any more…as lonely as you feel right now… put that away and talk to me”, he sings. Frank Ocean and Bon Iver have writer credits on the album, and Blake’s shiver-inducing collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon on ‘I Need a Forest Fire’ has to be one of the record’s strongest points. Their languished vocal tones naturally compliment each other to the point that they’re almost indistinguishable: “I’m saved by nature / But it always forgets what I need / I hope you’ll stop me before I build a wall around me”, they sing. The duo’s creative affinity and the emotional force of the song bleeds through with intensity – Vernon tweeted after the release: “so proud of our song Forest Fire, [which] came from wonderful accidents and a good friendship”.

Sonically, the album is incredibly wide-ranging. ‘Waves Know Shores’ sounds as if it was recorded in a church, and has undeniable gospel influences. On other tracks Blake electronically modifies his voice on some layers, then leaves it raw on others. The result feels like a call-and-response, the digital speaking to the human.

Pretty much every single one of the 17 tracks is incredibly strong. Nobody has made anything that sounds at all like this, and not for lack of trying. The album has its emotional and sonic peaks and troughs, but stands up to multiple listens and I’m sure, if anything, it will grow on me. It was certainly worth the wait.