James Blake – “Life Is Not The Same”

James Blake – “Life Is Not The Same”

James Blake announced his new album Friends That Break Your Heart last month with the release of lead single “Say What You Will” and its Finneas-featuring video. The second advance track, “Life Is Not The Same,” is out today. It pairs Blake with Take A Daytrip, the production duo who broke through with Sheck Wes’ “Mo Bamba” and have worked on most of Lil Nas X’s post-“Old Town Road” singles and the chart-topping Travis Scott/Kid Cudi collab “The Scotts” among work for lots of other noteworthy names.

Together they’ve come up with a pretty compelling spin on Blake’s poppy, post-Assume Form sound, one that laces his impassioned howls and eerie piano chords with hefty low end that reminds me of a hip-hop song out of Houston or the West Coast. Thematically, it finds him still deeply attached to his partner Jameela Jamil: “Life is not the same if we’re miles away!” Dig into the track below.

Friends That Break Your Heart is out 9/10 on Republic.

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