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James Blake

Love What Happened Here EP

(R&S; US: Import; UK: 16 Jan 2012; Online Release Date: 11 Dec 2011)

James Blake’s eponymous debut wouldn’t have disabused you of the notion that beatlessness meant formlessness or, worse, spinelessness, for the arty dubstep producer – if you never bothered to give it much of a chance, anyway. But a form and a spine he indeed has, and the beats on his latest EP, Love What Happened Here, set out to prove that. Back are the chopped up voices of his earlier EPs, somehow no less moving than the bare-bones crooning of James Blake. The title, and best, track, plays like Sly Stone covering Maxwell’s Urban Hang Suite on a drug-addled deadline. “At Birth” shows what Blake can do with modern house, and “Curbside” is a grimy reminder of what used to be exciting about Tricky. The former is the weakest link, yet its limber warmth bridges the bittersweet intro to the sinister finale quite nicely, making this yet another succinct, captivating statement from Blake.

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Benjamin is a cineaste, pop pushover, amateur Twitter comedian, and lover of all things pretentious from the affluent swamplands of Princeton, New Jersey. Nestled happily in the moist cocoon of post-graduate work at Northwestern University, he writes on music in his fleeting spare time and should probably be ignored at all costs.


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James Blake - Love What Happened Here
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By PopMatters Staff
29 Dec 2011
This year's top artists are a diverse lot represented by two of the world's biggest pop divas, a plethora of critically adored indie faves, some new talents emerging from the hip-hop underground, a couple of veteran Americana acts, and a few alt-rock legends among many more.
15 Dec 2011
Some of 2011's best songwriting came from artists whose work could be broadly defined as "alternative". Few of these artists fit the mold of the traditional singer-songwriter, creating music the blurs the lines defining genres.
26 Oct 2011
When it comes to James Blake’s music, it has been an extremely slow journey towards appreciation for me, which might just be an appropriate pace given his style of music.
21 Oct 2011
Given the success of his self-titled debut, it is tempting to expect too much from this release. But Enough Thunder is an encouraging sign that James Blake is open to furthering his artistic vision.
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