On his latest EP, “Enough Thunder,” James Blake steps further away from dubstep’s seemingly quintessential sound, the “womp.”
Blake brings complexity to a genre whose creativity seems to be diminishing by the second.
His specialty has always been minimalistic bass lines and delicately crafted beats, and he pushes the definition of dubstep even further on these new tracks.
Blake leans more towards the emotive nature of dubstep. He is careful to not stray the line between his own personal brand of dubstep and dance music.
It is entirely possible that listeners who favor the skull rattling bass thump of dance dub will find Blake’s latest material too mellow.
Fans of his previous self-titled LP may be disappointed with the lack of rhythm in his newer work.
However, his attention to detail and his ability to harness powerful emotions into neat, simple tracks is still very much intact and impressive.
In honor of the album’s title, “Enough Thunder”, Blake steps away from the pounding bass filled “thunder” of mainstream dubstep and produces not one, but two tracks that are essentially just him and his piano.
“Enough Thunder” and “A Case of You”, a Joni Mitchell cover, seem to represent Blake’s rebellion against dubstep. These tracks are not for the kids dancing in the clubs.
Blake’s tunes are far too intimate for mindless body thrusting. He combines sensuality with feelings of isolation and even when his lyrics are indistinguishable, his message is always translatable.
Along with the pleasantly unexpected Joni Mitchell cover, Blake throws in a collaborative track with Justin Vernon, otherwise known as Bon Iver.
“Fall Creek Boys Choir” is comprised of organized chaos and auto tuned soprano voices. The combination of Blake and Vernon’s respective croons is almost overwhelming, but fans of Bon Iver will enjoy this song.
“We Might Feel Unsound,” “Once We All Agree” and “Not Long Now” are all more recognizable as products of dubstep. Coolly distant and containing just the faintest hints of bass, these tracks are exactly the sort of sounds one would expect James Blake to produce.
James Blake forces listeners to question the definition of dubstep, and this is a noble challenge.
For a wildly talented artist like Blake, this EP is by no means a standout record, but it serves the purpose of bringing more depth into the genre.
