James Blake – “Lullaby For My Insomniac”
Just a few hours from now, James Blake will release Assume Form, his truly excellent new album. But first, he’s letting a couple tracks trickle out in advance today. We already heard the Travis Scott and Metro Boomin collab “Mile High” today, and last year’s single “Don’t Miss It” is also on the album. Now comes a third preview in the form of “Lullaby For My Insomniac.”
This is one of many love songs on Assume Form presumably inspired by Blake’s romance with The Good Place actress Jameela Jamil. It’s the closing track, and it ends the album with appropriate fanfare. Not that “Lullaby For My Insomniac” is big blowout; rather, it’s spare and ghostly, with Blake singing tenderly against warm chords that seem to materialize and dissipate like clouds. Eventually the backdrop becomes a chorus of his voice in gorgeous choral layers, language eventually giving way to sheer wordless beauty.
It’s a hell of way to end an album. Listen below, and read our review of Assume Form while you do.
Assume Form is out 1/18 on Republic/Polydor.