Before metal influences plagued things, James Blake helped to pioneer the shitstorm now called dubstep. Blake’s self-titled debut, one of 2011’s more acclaimed releases, introduced a remarkably seamless mix of R&B and glitchy electronics — think 21st century white Stevie Wonder. While Blake’s tunes do indeed have instances of overblown dubstep glory, he uses said moments to accentuate, not define, his craft. At the core, Blake is a songwriter and it’d be an injustice to call him anything else.
“Retrograde” puts Blake’s R&B tendencies at the forefront, but dubheads need not fret: the electronics are still around. As Blake’s production chops are simply better than most, one immediately feels the track’s warmth. It starts off sparse, with some piano and layers of Blake’s delicate croon. Thus far, things are shaping up to be a solid pensive track not unlike something on 2011’s Enough Thunder EP. But no, James couldn’t let the first single from his new album be a measly ballad, now could he!? Rather, in the track’s mid-section, gnarly synths sweep from the heavens and the track shifts gears, with James wailing, “suddenly I’m hit!” After reaching its majestic and haunting peak, “Retrograde” closes with the intro vocal loop.
It’d be hard to call the track’s unprecedented maturity retrograde, but perhaps that’s just the kind of contradiction Blake enjoys; whether it’s R&B and electronica or dissonance and beauty, the man thrives on an unconventional juxtaposition.
Blake’s second album, Overgrown, is out April 8 on Atlas/Republic.