James Blake just released his new album, and I wasn't ready for this so early in the day. The album is very much his style, and you've seen his style become far more mainstream (which is why I wasn't expecting it to be better than his previous album). He still manages to create a beautiful narrative in his piece that are extremely haunting and beautiful.
This is only an excerpt of one of my current favorite songs on the album.
EDIT: I just finished this album, and it is literally perfect. It is by far his best album to date. There isn't a song on it I don't love. I would really recommend this album to anyone. It is hugely deep and haunting.
EDIT 2: My favorite piece on the entire album
I'd agree this is his best album to date. Out of all the material I've heard from him, this is definitely the stuff I've enjoyed most consistently. Though it still succumbed to fate of all his albums for me, which is the tracks eventually all blurring into each other.
He's successfully carved out unique and personal sound which is an achievement in and of itself; it's certainly more that can be said for a lot of artists. But even his deftly executed combination of smooth, lofi chords, half-time beats, and ghostly vocal textures do become trite after a while. Contrast exists for a reason.
'Points' gets my pick as the best track for that reason. It surprised me when that lurching, bass-heavy beat came in, which I'm sucker for. And I loved how the alarm sound built into the string sounding chords at the end. For me it stood out in all aspects from the rest of the album.
One thing I can take from James Blake is a masterclass in presenting a minimal amount of materials for a large effect. My pieces almost always end up densely layered, for better or worse.