James Blake - James Blake
James Blake Image
Metascore

Universal acclaim - based on 38 Critics What's this?

User Score

Generally favorable reviews- based on 87 Ratings

  • Summary: Following positive reviews for his EPs, James Blake releases his first full-length album.
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 38
  2. Negative: 0 out of 38
  1. Mar 22, 2011
    100
    James Blake is dubstep's crossover moment, rolling back the hostile skronk and centering on a croon that rivals Antony Hegarty for lovelorn beauty.
  2. Apr 6, 2011
    80
    London singer-songwriter attempts to annex the middle ground between Benga and Anthony Hegarty. [March 2011, p. 96]
  3. Apr 28, 2011
    80
    Like Portishead, this album may very well achieve background ubiquity, but that should not be allowed to obscure the strangeness and currency of this record. [Mar 2011, p.46]
  4. Mar 22, 2011
    60
    The rest of the tracks are more like exercises in sound manipulation and reduction than songs. The approach is no-fault, but Blake pares it down to such an extent that the material occasionally sounds not just tentative but feeble, fatigued, even.

See all 38 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 16 out of 20
  2. Negative: 1 out of 20
  1. 10
    Immaculate, affecting, addictive. James Blake takes the cake. I Never Learnt to Share is perfect. Lindesfarne II is gourgeous. I'm not sure if the album is greater than the sum of its parts because I can't count that high. Expand
  2. Certainly one of the best albums of 2011.
    I usually like Dance-Pop, but this album has really stood out. I just love the use of the Electroni
    ca in songs like the powerful 'Unluck' or 'I Mind'. The echoing and the pauses create a haunting, beautiful effect.
    I guess some people will inevitably give it 10/10, but I don't see it as flawless.
    Expand
  3. There's an overriding impression that Blake is trying desperately hard to create an album of sonic originality, but textured calculations, modernist machine beats and vocoders can't replace traditional songwriting, of which there's simply not enough of on this debut Expand
  4. 4
    This album was over hyped and is now overrated. Its not really a bad album just completely boring. I will agree with everyone and say that the production is great but that's it. The autotune really doesn't do anything for me and in most cases it makes the songs worse. This album is really nothing more than slowed down Dubstep with heavy R&B influences. On "The Wilhelm Scream" I swear he even sounds like Aaron Nevil. Its not surprising that the best song on the album is the cover of Feist's "Limit to your Love", but even on the best track Blake had to add in weird pauses that really disrupt the flow of the song. Like I said before over hyped and overrated. Just a splattering of experimental music done in a minimalistic style. Nothing overly special. Expand

See all 20 User Reviews

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