James Blake: James Blake

Atlas/A&M

Believe the buzz: James Blake’s self-titled debut LP garnered more than a few glowing, hyperbolic reviews well before the dang thing even had a release date, and here’s another. The British-born Blake, already known in certain circles as a skilled producer, has created one of the most extraordinary records in years. Besides being blessed with a frighteningly masterful grasp of texture and sound (James Blake is a headphones record if there ever was one), Blake also possesses a soulful, striking voice. Electro-phobes will rejoice in the blunt urgency of tracks like “I Never Learnt to Share,” with its strange, stunning harmonies, while beat nerds will dig the haunting, slow-mo dubstep that travels the album’s veins. It’s the collision of the human and the alien that makes it - more so than any recent album or film, James Blake exposes the brittle line between us and the things we create. (5 out of 5 stars)