We’re At Square One

James Blake “Life Round Here”

Even when he’s singing a fairly straight forward R&B ballad, James Blake can’t help but give every song this vague, elliptical quality. It gives his music a strange quality, like someone who is yearning for a powerful emotional and physical connection, but can never stand to look you in the eye or speak in complete sentences. This is sexy R&B for people with serious social anxiety, or a fear of letting anyone in. “Life Round Here” is about as direct as Blake gets without just covering someone else – Joni Mitchell, Feist – and while I understand the gist of the drama, it’s still like trying to understand an emotional exchange while only seeing only one person’s subtle, pained facial expressions.

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