In the space of around 12 months James Blake has become a huge name not just in the electronic music scene, but also amongst a more mainstream audience, with his debut album proving to be hugely popular. Helped along by extensive touring and an impressive production rate, he’s now one of the hottest names not just production, but also in song writing.

‘Enough Thunder’ is a bit of a mixed bag; it’s definitely more on his piano ballad end of things, with his recent cover of Joni Mitchell’s ‘A Case Of You’ and the final track ‘Enough Thunder’ being quite stripped back. They’re quite good, okayish, not really my cup of tea, but exquisitely executed and typically James Blake, with echoey vocals and wonderfully poised timing.

The EP features his collaboration with Bon Iver, ‘Fall Creek Boys Choir’. I’m going to be short and sour; I don’t really have much time for this track. It’s boring, repetitive and has incredibly annoying vocals. This is highly arguable, and may well work better live, but it hasn’t grown on me since it was released as a stream a few weeks ago, and is slightly weak and whiney.

Two tracks on the EP more than make up for some of the feeling of disappointment though. ‘We Might Feel Unsound’ is clearly the outcome of Blake’s honed live sound, and really grew on me after a couple of listens. ‘Not Long Now’ is even better, and really shows off his attention to detail in terms of sound and song structure. It reminds me oddly of church organ music, and don’t let that put you off. It has a very soft, emotional feel, but with some real grit and weight, offering a great build into a mind blowing bassy breakdown. The end of the track is particularly interesting, with just a few seconds that sound almost like an entirely different piece of music, a full stop to the song if you will.

So, it’s a collection of Marmite tracks. You might hate the lot, you might love it all, but either way it’s an interesting listen and has a lot to offer with each play. It’s great to see James Blake’s sound moving forward and seeing how flexible he is as a producer. It’s a bit brainy and over thought in places, but it’s impressive to see such an in-demand artist consistently producing music, even if it isn’t all perfect. He’s brave enough to experiment and put out what I’m sure he realises is polarising work. You have to at least respect that, because it’s a lot more than the vast majority of producers could get away with.

‘Enough Thunder’ is out now.