James Blake is about a month out from releasing his latest album, Friends That Break Your Heart, and just a few days from kicking off his North American tour. So far, he’s shared two album singles, “Life Is Not The Same” and “Say What You Will.” Now, Blake has a third single to share: the spare, soulful “Famous Last Words,” which premiered today on Zane Lowe’s Apple Music show. With a sparse synth melody and pulsating beat, “Famous Last Words” will no doubt be a welcome addition to the UK singer’s catalog.
Opening up to British GQ about his latest album title, Blake recently said, “It’s a Ronseal title,” adding, “It feels relevant to the moment, if I may say so myself, because a lot of us had to contend with friendships where we weren’t getting what we needed out of them. Maybe we were moving on or people were moving on without us.”
Blake continued, discussing how confusing it can be when friendships fade out: “It’s a kind of relationship that doesn’t really have a protocol for when it ends. With romantic relationships we know what to do and we know what to expect. Love songs and films have told us and other people know what to expect of us when we’re heartbroken in that way. Friendship breakups don’t carry the same level of acknowledged gravitas. People just go: ‘Well, you can get more friends. There are plenty more of those.'”
Listen to “Famous Last Words” above.
Friends That Will Break Your Heart is out 10/8 via Republic. Pre-order it here.
