Listen: James Blake's "Barefoot In The Park" ft. ROSALÍA

When electronic soul experimenter James Blake released The Colour in Anything in 2016, it was a sonic outing so remarkably stripped of "colour", so dark and deeply personal, it bared open his aches and sorrows through a series of heartfelt ballads set against throbbing EDM beats and mournful piano keys. At 17 songs and 1 hour 16 minutes, it was also a little self-indulgent. Blake's new album Assume Form finds him opening up, picking up the pieces and moving forward, adding splashes of colour to his palette in ways that makes it noticeably brighter and joyous. Celebratory even. I guess that's what love does to all of us. In many ways, it's the most pop-leaning Blake has ever sounded, and it's simply glorious. Musically the album is stellar, a spellbinding fusion of delicate synthetic balladry and slinky smooth trap topped off by Barefoot in the Park, a wispy flamenco'esque melody that's so crushingly beautiful, it's at once raw, visceral and utterly captivating.