In the wake of
such a magnitude of anticipation surrounding the release of James Blake’s
second album, ‘Overgrown’, it’s been a real joy to find that the lofty expectations
of both fans and critics alike have by no means been in vain.
All too often it
seems, such a swift rise to fame, brings with it the bitter aftertaste of an
equally rapid decline into the abyss, where countless other rising stars have plummeted
back into obscurity.
However, this,
I’m certain, will not be the story for James Blake, whose follow-up to his
highly accomplished self-titled debut album of 2011; stands to prove that not
all hurried recognition of young talent need burn out once the hype has
subsided.
With only two
days between the release of ‘Overgrown’ and his live performance at the Manchester
Academy 2, I embark upon the gig with six full listens under my belt and the
quiet excitement of a person about to witness the symbiosis of an artist with
their creative spirit. Taking to the
stage, Blake is met with the rapturous applause of a room brimming with ardent
fans, and reciprocates the acclamation with the unassuming modesty of a young
man still acclimatizing themselves to their new-founded fame.
Accompanied by his
guitarist and drummer, Blake provides a set list of changing moods; from the haunting
beauty ‘Our Love Comes Back’ in which Blake’s soulful cries conjure the
emotions of a grief-stricken lover yearning for that which he has lost, to the
warm electronic groove of ‘Life Round Here’.
As would be
expected, Blake’s version of Fiest’s ‘Limit to Your Love’; the song which
marked his cross-over from producer to stage performer; receives a huge
response from the audience, as does the magnificent ‘Wilhelm Scream’ with it’s
hypnotic down-tempo melancholy, gradually developing into a cacophony of bass distortion.
Blake completes
the main set with new fan favourite, ‘Retrograde’; a deeply soulful vocal
performance strung out above a classic hip-hop beat, with the siren-like wail
of an old Prophet keyboard whining its way towards a sensational climax.
After gesturing
his thanks to the crowd, Blake returns to their pleas for an two track encore, including
my personal highlight of the evening; ‘Voyeur’, a beat and bass-driven house
track which swells into a rave-like euphoria, followed by a beautiful cover of
Joni Mitchell’s heart-wrenching ‘A Case of You’. Within this
encore alone, James Blake illustrates his extraordinary scope; raising the
crowd into an emotional state of bliss, then in one breath shattering them with
the broken despair of a woeful lament. Blake expresses himself with a quality
of soul far beyond his mere 24 years, and is already the master of his
art-form; doubtless to say we will be watching the journey of exceptional young
man for many more years to come.
Listen to some of James Blake:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oOT2-OTebx0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6p6PcFFUm5I
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KXc8spJaEFo
.jpg "Pickled Cherry - Photography by Lee-Anne Nieuwstadt - Cape Town - Romance")
.jpg "Pickled Cherry - Photography by Lee-Anne Nieuwstadt - Cape Town - Smile")
