Overgrown

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For other uses, see Overgrow.
Overgrown
James Blake - Overgrown album cover.png
Studio album by James Blake
Released 5 April 2013 (2013-04-05)
Recorded 2010–12
Genre
Length 39:22
Label ATLAS, A&M, Polydor
Producer James Blake, Brian Eno
James Blake chronology
Love What Happened Here
(2011)Love What Happened Here2011		 Overgrown
(2013)		 200 Press (EP)
(2014)String Module Error: Match not found2014
Singles from Overgrown
  1. "Retrograde"
    Released: 11 February 2013[2]
  2. "Overgrown"
    Released: 10 April 2013
  3. "Life Round Here"
    Released: 13 October 2013

Overgrown is the second studio album by English electronic musician James Blake. It was released on 5 April 2013 by Blake's ATLAS Records, along with A&M Records and Polydor Records. The album features guest appearances from noted electronic music producer Brian Eno and Wu-Tang Clan member RZA.[3] Overgrown debuted at number eight on the UK Albums Chart and at number one of the US Dance/Electronic chart, becoming Blake's highest-charting album to date. It was supported by lead single "Retrograde".

The album was awarded the 2013 Mercury Prize, beating favourites Laura Mvula, Disclosure and David Bowie to win. It also earned Blake a nomination for the Grammy Award for Best New Artist at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards.

Background

Following both the critical and commercial success of Blake's self-titled debut album, Blake released both the Enough Thunder and Love What Happened Here EPs. These EPs, noticeably more structured than his previous releases, featured more R&B tinged work as opposed to the dubstep-influenced electronic sound of CMYK. Many reviewers speculated in the year between releases that Blake was headed in the wrong direction, with Pitchfork's Larry Fitzmaurice saying that "James Blake's reliance on piano-based singer/songwriter electro-soul perhaps played it a bit too safe, prompting comparisons to the once-outré, now-gear spinning career of fellow avant-crooner Jamie Lidell".[4]

Blake admitted to Hot Press in an interview about Overgrown that his relationship affected the album. He said, "I can't deny it. There's no point in trying to come up with some other explanation for what I've been writing about....When it happened, I was really struck. Y'know—suddenly I'm hit!".[5]

Earlier in 2012, Blake spent time with American rapper Kanye West and singer Justin Vernon. Their time spent together is alleged to have affected his album as many of the soul and electronic influences of West and Vernon can be seen in the first single released from Overgrown, "Retrograde". In 2012, after months of speculation, Blake announced a new collaborative non-single release under the moniker Harmonimix. This release featured British rapper Trim and the single "Confidence Boost/Saying" was released on 24 September 2012. It was a return to form for Blake and featured the distinct characteristics present in his previous efforts (Though "Confidence Boost" has been floating around on the internet for three or four years).[6]

During the final weeks of 2012, Blake performed three intimate shows where he débuted five of his new songs, the five being "Our Love Comes Back", "Overgrown", "Retrograde", "To the Last" and "Every Day I Ran."[7][8]

Blake announced via Facebook on 7 February 2013 that his second album, Overgrown, would be released on 8 April.[9] The first single from the album, "Retrograde", was débuted the same day on BBC Radio 1, and was released on 11 February.

On 7 March, Blake and his labelmates at 1-800 Dinosaur released both the dub version of "Voyeur" and the album cut of "Digital Lion" featuring Brian Eno.[10]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
Source Rating
Metacritic 82/100[11]
Review scores
Source Rating
AllMusic 4.5/5 stars[12]
The A.V. Club A−[13]
The Daily Telegraph 4/5 stars[14]
The Guardian 5/5 stars[15]
NME 8/10[16]
Pitchfork Media 8.0/10[17]
Q 3/5 stars[18]
Rolling Stone 3.5/5 stars[19]
Slant Magazine 4/5 stars[20]
Spin 7/10[21]

Overgrown received widespread critical acclaim upon its release. At Metacritic, which assigns a rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the album received an average score of 82, based on 40 reviews, which indicates "universal acclaim".[11] Martyn Young of musicOMH stated that "Overgrown is more diverse and dynamic than before. Blake seems to have found an ideal middle ground between restrained and measured balladry and disorientating electronic soul".[22] This sentiment was echoed by The Guardian's Paul MacInnes, who wrote that "Blake's palette is unique, his abilities as a composer are great and quite obviously growing."[15] In a review for AllMusic, Fred Thomas described the album as existing "somewhere between the vacant echoes of dub and trip-hop, dubstep's sample-slicing production, and the contained heartbreak of a singer/songwriter playing piano to himself in an empty room," and noted that "while it might take listeners a few spins to find the right head space for the album, once they get there, it's an easy place to get lost in." [12] Clash said the album is "paradoxically less fragmented than its illustrious predecessor, ideas rotating core values guided by an affirmatively unseen hand. Which ultimately makes this an even better record."[23]

On 30 October 2013 the album won the Mercury Music Prize Award for album of the year.

Overgrown ranked among the top albums for the year, making it on to many end-of-year lists. According to "Album of the Year," an aggregation website for end of the year album lists, Overgrown is a runner-up for Album of the Year, alongside Neko Case's The Worse Things Get... and Drake's Nothing Was The Same.[24] The lead single, "Retrograde," also won an Ivor Novello Award for "Best Contemporary Song."

Track listing

No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
1. "Overgrown"   James Blake Blake 5:00
2. "I Am Sold"   Blake Blake 4:04
3. "Life Round Here"   Blake Blake 3:37
4. "Take a Fall for Me" (featuring RZA) Blake, Robert Diggs Blake 3:33
5. "Retrograde"   Blake Blake 3:43
6. "DLM"   Blake Blake 2:25
7. "Digital Lion"   Blake, Brian Eno, Rob McAndrew Blake 4:45
8. "Voyeur"   Blake Blake 4:17
9. "To the Last"   Blake Blake 4:19
10. "Our Love Comes Back"   Blake Blake 3:39
Total length:
 39:22
iTunes bonus tracks[25]
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "Every Day I Ran"   Blake Blake 3:24
12. "Retrograde" (music video)     4:03
Total length:
 48:09
Japanese edition bonus track[26]
No. Title Writer(s) Producer(s) Length
11. "The Wilhelm Scream" (Live at Pitchfork) James Litherland, Blake Blake 6:01
Total length:
 45:23
Double LP vinyl edition[27]
No. Title Writer(s) Side Length
1. "Overgrown"   James Blake I (A) 5:00
2. "I Am Sold"   Blake I (A) 4:04
3. "Life Round Here"   Blake I (B) 3:37
4. "Take a Fall for Me" (featuring RZA) Blake, Robert Diggs I (B) 3:33
5. "Retrograde"   Blake I (B) 3:43
6. "Digital Lion"   Blake, Brian Eno, Rob McAndrew II (A) 4:45
7. "DLM"   Blake II (A) 2:25
8. "Voyeur"   Blake II (B) 4:17
9. "To the Last"   Blake II (B) 4:19
10. "Our Love Comes Back"   Blake II (B) 3:39
Total length:
 39:22

Charts and certification

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Silver 60,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

Release history

Region Date Label
Australia[57] 5 April 2013 Universal Music
Germany[58]
Ireland[59] ATLAS Recordings, A&M Records,
Polydor Records
United Kingdom[60] 8 April 2013
France[61] Universal Music
Sweden[62]
Italy[63] 9 April 2013
Poland[64]
United States[65] Republic Records
Japan[26] 10 April 2013 Universal Music

See also

References

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