[listen] James Blake, “And Holy Ghost”

Mar 15, 2013

The crafting a B-side isn’t as easy as tagging another song on the other side of a presumably better one. There’s an art to it, and on “And Holy Ghost” James Blake has constructed a song as focused, dense and palatable as a communion wafer to the newly saved. The song’s holy title is not misleading; “Ghost” is aiming for a superficially sacred listening experience, and works wonders within its narrow parameter; drones that seem to echo from an underwater opera house are occasionally and briefly interrupted by syrup-y drums and a sampled affirmation. It approaches the droning vestibules of Clams Casino’s work, but takes it far away from hip hop and into James Blake’s own world.