Now a full-fledged R&B singer – versus an electronic performer/producer with with silky piano skills, a killer voice, and a flirtation with soul – James Blake has made the rounds over the years. Fresh off the heels of his latest album, Assume Form, his fourth full-length release, Blake returned to Boston’s House of Blues on Wednesday 2/20, this time to a sold out crowd. Since his last visit in support of The Colour of Anything, he’s worked as a producer for a slew of big name R&B and hip-hop artists (Beyoncé, Jay Z, Kendrick Lamar, André 3000, Frank Ocean, and more have all worked with him in the past few years).

 

Blake’s emergence as a bonafide singer-songwriter has been a long time coming, so naturally his set was filled with material from Assume Form, an album filled with sobering, mature self-reflection. While his prior releases have been filled with somber, isolated perspectives, you get the sense that James Blake is more comfortable – or at least learning to be content – with himself, including his own talent and abilities. Highlights from Assume Form included “Mile High” featuring Travis Scott and Metro Boomin, “Where’s the Catch” featuring André 3000, and “Don’t Miss It.” While the features were prerecorded for the live setup, Blake skillfully harmonized with his absent guests, and despite the size of the venue, his performances always have the atmosphere of very intimate affairs. Which is to say, people come to his shows to be all up in their feelings, and they absolutely were. 

 

The one downside of focusing on performing new material is that a lot of old fan favorites fall to the wayside. While it’s been a longtime since the minimal post-dubstep that launched his career on his self-titled debut album, Blake could only fit one song from it into his current set (his ethereal cover of Feist’s “Limit To Your Love,” of course). Other notable omissions from his usual repertoire were his cover of Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” and “We Need A Forest Fire,” one of his duets with Bon Iver. But regardless of what was left out, Blake nonetheless presented his audience with a well-constructed, emotionally moving set. 

 

Once the show let out, attendees left the venue greeted by snow flurries; despite the cold weather, they could not have been warmer after hearing James Blake’s soothing, salve-like songs.