James Blake is increasingly displaying a master’s stroke when it comes to the use of space and silence in his music. Still modelled around the cut and paste sample style of his previous work, Klavierwerke ditches the brash R&B reference material, focusing instead on manipulating the simplicity of his voice and piano. The melancholic piano keys settle beautifully alongside his meandering and constantly distorted vocals; resulting in a far more refined and sombre sound, which is equally haunting as it is beautiful. Essential. -POM
