James Blake, Friends That Break Your Heart Review

James Blake is a London-based producer, singer, and songwriter that first hit the scene with his quirky, R&B-sampling strain of dubstep in 2009 when his Air & Lack Thereof 12″ appeared on the Hemlock label. Blake then had a track picked by the heralded Soul Jazz label for their Steppas’ Delight 2 compilation that same year. Blake continued to raise his reputation during 2010, which was something of a breakout year for him with a succession of warmly received songs. His debut album, James Blake, had a significant impression and was eventually nominated for a Mercury Prize but lost to PJ Harvey’s Let England Shake. Blake’s Enough Thunder, a six-track EP with a Bon Iver collaboration and a cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You,” also was greeted with much success. Blake spent much of 2012 working on his second album, releasing new works under the name Harmonimix. In 2013, he released his second album, Overgrown, featuring collaborations with Brian Eno and RZA. It won that year’s Mercury Prize, and Blake’s songwriting was acknowledged when “Retrograde,” one of the album’s highlights, won an Ivor Novello Award in the category of Best Contemporary Song. Little, apart from an Airhead collaboration and an EP on his 1-800 Dinosaur label, was heard from Blake for three years. However, he resurfaced in April 2016 with contributions to Beyoncé’s Lemonade. The Colour in Anything marked Blake’s third album, which was recorded in England and at Rick Rubin’s studio in Malibu, California; it included input from Bon Iver and Frank Ocean. (David Jeffries & Andy Kellman, AMG). Blake is now releasing his first full-length album in three years, Friends That Break Your Heart.

Bottom Line:  The GRAMMY-winning UK artist released Friends That Break Your Heart on September 10, 2021, via Republic Records. The album features the single “Say What You Will.” Blake calls this a concept album and worked closely with artist Miles Johnston to design the cover art, which is a visual encapsulation of the emotions brought forth throughout the project. Friends That Break Your Heart presents Blake’s songwriting in his most traditional and uncluttered style to date. There is a strong emphasis placed on the lyrics, making this album very relatable. “Famous Last Words” builds upon a hypnotic synth and string pad before Blake’s throaty falsetto enters. His R&B influences hold true as he sings the melody and its solid lyrics. “Life Is Not The Same” is another ballad with a low-fi drum beat and interesting vocal production for backgrounds. The flow of the song is jarring in its introduction of random parts and restiveness. Coming Back” is a collaboration with SZA and has steady piano chords framing Blake’s singing. SZA’s sensual vocal colors are an excellent addition to the flow of the album. “Foot Forward” is co-produced with Metro Boomin and Frank Dukes and is one of the few mid-tempo grooves on the album and a high point. Overall, Friends That Break Your Heart flows with Blake’s impressive singing, but the song structures falling in the more traditional framework reveal a lack of imagination in production and parts that achieve a fulfilling development of motifs and structures. The result is disjunct and curious, but not in a satisfying way; it sounds safe, undeveloped, and unfinished. That’s the short of it!

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