‘The Book of Love’ feels like a record from a different time. The indie pop rock record from Blake definitely sounds like an album from the sixties, even evoking the same visual feel through an album cover that draws from penguin book covers of the forties and nineties. Loaded with catchy melodies, simple acoustic driven riffs, and vocal harmonies that feel like you’ve heard these songs growing up, the eleven track record has you finding something to take away on at least a few of these delightful and spritely tunes.
Kick-starting the album with the ever so loving song, ‘Penelope Please’, Blake draws you into the record with perhaps the catchiest tune of the bunch. On ‘The Circle’, the guitar work becomes more prominent with a driving electric and bass line overlapping a more confident and deeper vocal performance. ‘Come goes and nobody knows, life is a circle, round and round it goes’. It’s a poignant and punchy melody that lives in your memory for the sheer chirpiness of the performance alongside the more contemplative lyricism. ‘Blue Star’ marks a more solemn and melancholic point on the record, choosing to take a more slower and ballad-esque approach from the more cheery opening two tracks. Then on ‘Lost Ground’, you feel like you’re entering a classic rock tune to the vein of a Chuck Berry inspired riff. The more melodic and chirpy performance returns on the wonderfully uplifting and upbeat ‘Happy’ right after.
Finally on the album’s titular track, Blake almost combines all the styles and emotions into a perfect record that’s emblematic of the entire album’s feeling. Without a doubt, the UK based artist has a prolific talent for song writing that’s exemplified in the catchiness of each and every track while still maintaining a profound distinctiveness in style and substance.