Saturday ACL Fest 2019 Record Reviews
James Blake
Assume Form (Polydor)
Reviewed by Alejandra Ramirez, Fri., Oct. 4, 2019
Love can be a study of contrasts, sweet yet overwhelming. Buoyed by intimacy and sincerity, Assume Form channels Blake at his happiest as each song plays out like a sentimental billet-doux. Unlike the suffocating Overgrown (2013) or self-indulgent epic The Colour in Anything (2016), the London crooner's fourth album navigates the doldrums of depression ("Don't Miss It") as well as the vertiginous ecstasy of being in love ("I'll Come Too"). As his staple falsetto breaks delicate or climactic over electro currents ("Power On") or opaque ambience ("Mile High"), Assume Form anchors in a litany of love. (Saturday, 7pm, Miller Lite stage)