Review: James Blake – Friends That Break Your Heart

Singer-songwriter James Blake releases his fifth studio album after a month-long delay. The critically renowned artist most known for his self-titled debut is coming off arguably his worst record, so there is much reason for the anticipation of Friends That Break Your Heart. The record presents itself as the perfect length, portraying thoughtfulness in production and preparation value, which is also reinforced by its beautiful cover art (the best or most interesting by far in his discography). Blake also brings valuable and surprising features SZA, JID, SwaVay, and Monica Martin to further this artistic endeavor. He begins the album with the lyrically minimal Famous Last Words that is stretched out over a light, sparkly beat with gradual progression into string use at the end. It helps simply introduce the thematic element of relationships (of friends or significant others) for the album. Here is the track-by-track analysis:

Life Is Not the Same – A surprising beat made by Take a Daytrip presents as an extremely strong track with one of the best choruses I’ve heard from Blake. The lyrics concisely state the effect of physical distance between people in a relationship (again, not specifically romantic).

Coming Back – In contrast to the last track, the chorus is a lot weaker and noticeably redundant, but the SZA feature kind of makes up for it. The songwriting seems to have a little bit more implications of a romantic relationship.

Funeral – An interesting song that can be interpreted as a metaphorical funeral for the possibility of a relationship. Blake talks about wanting to be heard and coming out of his shell; there is definitely some vulnerable, introverted commentary here on one party’s feelings when desiring another. However, it is a bit musically disappointing. There is also a slowthai feature on the bonus track version.

Frozen – This is a phenomenally creative and well-crafted track that utilizes JID in ways I could never imagine. JID starts with a lower voice autotune that quickly reverts to his normal voice, delivering a cool and collected rap verse that fits the mood perfectly and shows off his lyrical chops. I read this song as pretty wholesome as if the two rappers are helping distract Blake from thinking too much about his relationship troubles.

I’m So Blessed You’re Mine – Blake crafts a more experimental but lyrically skeletal and repetitive song here. However, I think the latter features work in his favor by emphasizing how lucky he feels to have this girl, interjecting with calling her lover and wanting to fix regrets. The song culminates in a jarring, dissonant strings mess that returns to the main beat, which I love.

Foot Forward – This song features one of the most catchy choruses on the album with a great falsetto use. The instrumental includes an interesting old piano (?) repeat that becomes clearer in the end. It is a slightly immersive track that finds Blake dealing with knowing that he will be replaced with some other dude.

Show Me – Monica Martin appears here with some verse contributions and as vocal support/harmony. The lyrics are about Blake wishing his ex showed him more about her and her secrets, saying that he hopes she will open up more for the next guy.

Say What You Will – Starting with a deeper range for his singing, he almost creates this back-and-forth with his falsetto in the chorus. The outro has an impressive long note that Blake holds in his falsetto as the instrumental gets grander.

Lost Angel Nights – A slightly filler feeling track that has a mediocre chorus but some interesting noise effects and other elements in the production. Some of the most simplistic, derivative love lyrics here. It does make the album sound like it’s coming to a slow end.

Friends That Break Your Heart – The self-titled track confirms my prediction of commentary about platonic relationships. We see Blake argue that friendships break his heart more than any type of relationship, posing a compelling argument that we may not think about as much. The verse and bridge are great because the passion in his voice really shines through. Everything is backed on a minimal guitar instrumental with some other production, really allowing for the lyrics to be heard.

If I’m Insecure – This closing song is a grand, organ-backed performance of one of the best pre-chorus to chorus transitions I have heard this year. It ends with a silent mic drop in the middle of silence.

Blake really redeemed himself on this album, releasing one of the most well-crafted love albums of this year. It’s not that creative, experimental, nor forward-thinking, but that is not the point. Friends That Break Your Heart instills this momentary indulgence in the feelings of heartbreak, coming with the twist of discussing platonic relationship heartbreaks. My only critique thematically is that it does not push into that unique concept of platonic relationships more despite it being so clear in the album title. It can be argued that many song lyrics could be interpreted as about platonic relationships, but I argued in the track-by-track analysis the ones that implied romantic relationships (which were many of them). Nevertheless, the instrumental production and vocals are immaculate as Blake creates an aesthetic atmosphere. He definitely does so on specifically euphoric choruses. Overall, the work just cements him as a truly polished singer-songwriter in the current music scene.

Score: 8.2

Favorite Tracks: Life Is Not the Same, Frozen, I’m So Blessed Your Mine, & Foot Forward

Least Favorites: Lost Angel Nights