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Dynamics are everything. At least they are for producer-turned-artist James Blake. The single “The Wilhelm Scream” from the 21-year-old’s self-titled album shows he knows it’s true. He uses the same progression, tempo, and lyrics through the entirety of the piece, but as he lures listeners with a routine melody and cadence, Blake slowly and steadily turns up the heat. Like frogs in a pot, listeners are unaware of the boiling dynamics until they’re (contentedly) trapped inside the intensity. It is not until Blake suddenly reverts back to square-one that listeners realize just how far the song has carried them. He camouflages the unwavering lyrics, tempo, and chord structures as a steady hand turns up the volume and the static.
Blake’s first single, “Limit to Your Love,” is another song that clearly illustrates this tactic: create a tide to each song—a dynamic ebb and flow—that lends itself to the larger currents of the entire album. The approach he takes to these songs, and to many others on the album, will intrigue, entice, and lull listeners into complacent contentment. Blake blends influences from many artists into a tight sound of his own. The reverberating drum kit in “The Wilhelm Scream” hints at Peter Gabriel’s signature “gated drum” timbre; Blake’s voice resembles the rich and throaty tones of Annie Lennox and Robert Smith, but ultimately he creates an entirely individual, and excruciatingly soulful, stoic vocal approach. Blending pop tones with dub-step and electronic sequencing, his self-titled album is catapulting Blake into a leading role in 2011.
Watch the video for “The Wilhelm Scream,” below!
–Matthew Mabis (June 28, 2011)
