Spending time in your own head can be very valuable. It is a way to assess and reflect upon our actions. Spending time in our heads can help us become more attuned with our emotions, allowing us to be alert to situations that might disrupt our peace of mind. As with all things, too much time within ourselves can lead to isolation from the world around us and the people we love. What happens when we’re so comfortable with our own thoughts that we start to neglect those nearest to us? What happens when the comfort ceases but we don’t know how to leave our heads to ask for help? James Blake’s previous albums have tried their best to answer these questions as he has shown the pitfalls of an isolated life. He has forged a very successful career from his willingness to strip himself bare and put his emotions front and center. Throughout his discography, he has taken us on his most personal journeys through loneliness, heartbreak, uncertainty, and depression. In a way, he acts as an avatar for his listeners, willing to wade through the dark and suffocating feelings that we would rather neglect and asking the questions that we are to scared to ask ourselves. On ‘Assume Form’, his fourth studio album, things are different but they are also exactly the same. Love is the focal point of this new body of work and while it has been a constant theme on previous albums, never has it appeared in such a fully-formed, requited state. Prone to spending too much time into his head, ‘Assume Form’ sees Blake walking out into the world, ready to experience all of its splendour with a full heart and the woman he loves by his side.
There is a feeling of wonderment that Blake brings with him on this album, underscored by scepticism and insecurity. There is a fine line that he tries to traverse as he shares the depths of his love and happiness while exposing the troubling questions that linger in the back of his mind. This duality is present on the title track ‘Assume Form’ in which he states “when you touch me, I wonder what you would want with me”. This line acts a perfect snapshot of the cracks in Blake’s confidence and beautifully contrasts the line in the chorus where he sings “I will assume form, I’ll be out of my head this time.” Blake is trapped between the comfort of staying within the four corners of his mind and being present enough to fully enjoy this love that has blossomed.
For someone that has been as vocal about his emotional problems and shortcomings as a lover, it is no surprise to see Blake tread this carefully regarding his relationship. It is the fear that comes from leaving the dark spaces in your head and walking into an unknown light. The fear of having something really good in your life and not wanting to fuck it up. Not one to use bravado to present a bullshit façade of self-confidence, songs like ‘Are You In Love?’ show us exactly what Blake is feeling in a manner so relatable that you can’t help but understand as he wonders if the woman he loves really loves him back. Even if she doesn’t love him, he’s not ashamed to ask her to “do your best impression for me”, content to live in a constructed fantasy as long as he’s still with her. It is a gorgeous examination of relationship anxiety, with Blake’s layered vocals coming together in harmony over swelling strings like a choir of voices from deep within his thoughts, all asking his lover one question in unity: “are you in love?” In exposing the sides of relationships that are usually hidden from the world, Blake gives his listeners situations that they might be able to relate to, even if they’ll never admit it openly.
James Blake has never been afraid to bring people into his world both lyrically and sonically. ‘Mile High’ features an exceptionally hazy Travis Scott drowsily singing about joining the mile high club as part of his Rockstar lifestyle. ‘Where’s The Catch’ features Andre 3000 in his purest tongue twisting form packing metaphors together so tightly you might still discover something new in a few weeks. Even Moses Sumney’s slightly raspy vocals slide over a muted yet bouncy production from Metro Boomin’ on ‘Tell Them’, a self analysis on intimacy through the lens of a one-night stand. ‘Barefoot In The Park’, has Rosalia and Blake singing about their increased infatuation with their lovers, with Rosalia’s vocals acting as a real highlight on the album. Despite all of these different voices coming together on such an intimate album, Blake is able to find a purpose for each guest to serve with their contributions enriching his overarching themes while further fleshing out his world.
‘Power On’, one of the most blatantly honest songs on a blatantly honest album, serves as a faint victory lap of sorts. Blake is not afraid to say that there was a time when he thought he was better off dead. He is not afraid to say that he never thought he would find a space to fit in. He is not even afraid to confess that he was selfish in bed and put music over his girlfriend. With all these admissions follows the phrase, “I was wrong.” This is a level of self-awareness that has been missing from previous albums and it is refreshing to see him be accountable for the areas in which he has faltered. Blake wants to encourage emotional honesty not just in himself, but in other men so that they won’t feel like they’re trapped in a place where they feel like they can’t voice their problems or personal failings. He is encouraging a more holistic form of growth that is centred on changing what is wrong within, rather than blaming everyone else around you.
‘Assume Form’ is an album that worms its way into your heart. It is an album that demands you to listen multiple times to fully appreciate the subtle sonic brilliance of James Blake. While it lacks some of the breath-taking drama that can be found throughout Blake’s discography, it is warm and gentle, like a caress on the cheek from your favourite person. Love fills every spare corner on this album, creating a body of work that shows a man who is at peace with his current place in life. Blake is still learning about himself, about love and relationships, and how to traverse this world after spending so long isolating himself from it. He has gotten out of his head, and brought us along with him.
