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James Blake’s success story is a modest but significant affair. With sprinklings of accolades from runner up in BBC’s Sound of 2011 to a Mercury Prize for his debut album, he has quietly raised his status whilst hovering comfortably just under the radar. After ‘CMYK’, a minimalist trance track containing a sample of Kelis’ ‘Caught Out There’, started receiving radio attention, it came as something of a surprise when he released ‘Limit To Your Love’ and revealed that he could also actually sing. His soaring vibrato hits you like a beautiful punch in the stomach, and live at Leeds Student Union, his voice is unleashed into the stratosphere with every song.
“This is our first gig back in England in quite a while and it feels so good to be home” says Blake in a rare moment of speech, “But to be honest I was really scared about performing tonight”. No reason is given, just a blunt honest admission and then onto the next song. And it is exactly the same in his music, Blake’s lyrics are often simple, illusive and scarce, and yet he sings with a voice so full of emotion that it feels like he’s ripping open a wound with every word. “My brother and my sister don’t speak to me. But I don’t blame them” are the only lyrics in “I Never Learned To Share” but he doesn’t need to say any more; his voice soars, crescendos and cracks at all the right moments- the story is all there.
Unfortunately the pool of resources with which to choose a set list is somewhat limited when you’ve only released one album. As a result, some of the songs Blake sings are new, unpolished and not as impactful as those featured on his album. But when he does, quite literally, hit the right note, it is captivating. It’s no slight to say that his best performances are his covers. ‘Limit To Your Love’ is virtually unrecognisable from the Feist original and is perfectly suited to Blake’s ethereal voice, and ‘Case Of You’ brings Joni Mitchell’s under-appreciated music to a new generation.
‘Case Of You’ in fact, is the highlight of the whole set. Blake has an emotional connection with his songs that is rare for an artist of his time- in fact he is brought to tears by his final song. One can only speculate whether this was because of overwhelming emotional sensitivity or because he stubbed his toe under the table. Either way, his performance left the audience feeling they had experienced something special.
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