English producer and singer/songwriter James Blake is a master of atmosphere. His past two full-length albums, his 2011 self-titled and 2013’s Overgrown, created environments that were cold, dark and intensely beautiful. His third, The Colour In Anything is no different, continuing his trend of using ambient sounds and his own soothing voice to fill the room with  sound and emotion.
In the past, Blake was lumped together with the wave of post-dubstep artists that came out of the UK in the early 2010s, including Mount Kimbie, Jamie xx and SBTRKT. But Blake was the most soulful of the lot with his crooning voice and R&B influence. The Colour In Anything further reinforces this fact: Blake pours out his soul even further on this album with tracks such as “Love Me In Whatever Way,” “Radio Silence” and especially “f.o.r.e.v.e.r.”
“F.o.r.e.v.e.r.” is Blake at his most heartbreaking, emotional and minimal. The only instruments are his voice and a lonely piano. Every line ends with his vocals extending into the space between the piano notes. It’s one of the best in his discography.
Another standout track, “I Need A Forest Fire,” is a perfect collaboration with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. Vernon and Blake’s voices have been endlessly compared, so it makes perfect sense that they would work together (they previously collaborated on “Fall Creek Boys Choir” from 2011’s Enough Thunder EP). They take turns at first, each one having his own verse, until the second chorus where they sing together in harmony with the production building behind them.
Drake came out with Views only a week before The Colour In Anything, and it’s easy to compare the two. Blake and Drake are both very emotional lyricists, singing about ex-lovers and forlorn longing. Both of their newest albums are a bit long and can be slow at times.
While Views has been called too drawn out and sleepy for Drake, the format works better with Blake’s record. Where Drake draws out his girl problems and homesickness for 20 tracks, he never really sounds emotional and ultimately comes off as disingenuous.
This is where Blake succeeds.
The strains in his voice and soothing hums are what shine through all 17 tracks. It can be difficult to decipher what exactly Blake means in some of his vivid imagery, but listen to the songs enough and you’ll start to relate to his heartbreak.
As with James Blake’s past two full-lengths, The Colour In Anything is an album for those dark, cold nights when you can’t help but think of that someone. It’s an album for when you just want to get home and fall into bed.
Colour shows how soulful and gripping electronic music can be and how Blake is becoming a real soul singer instead of just another post-dubstep producer. Let him bare his soul to you as he guides you through the night.
Listen to “My Willing Heart” from James Blake’s The Colour in Anything below.

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Review: James Blake bares his soul on ‘The Colour In Anything’