When I first heard about James Blake, I was convinced I was going to hate his music. A young British dubstep-inflected electro-minimalist who liberally uses autotune? No thanks.
The joke was on me. Blake's new self titled record is the best album I've heard all year. It grabbed my attention on first listen, and has only gotten better the more it spins. Blake is a master of using silence to inform his sound, and he's not afraid to expose his voice - autotuned or not. The closest analog I can think of is Bon Iver, although James Blake and For Emma, Forever Ago are drastically different records. Both are built for winter, and both are built to last.
Check out a video of Blake performing live at the BBC. "Wilhelms Scream" is one of the best tracks on a record full of good ones.
James Blake - Wilhelms Scream (YSI) (filesavr<) (removed upon request)
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