"Barefoot in the Park" is a song by English electronic music producer and singer-songwriter James Blake featuring Spanish singer and songwriter Rosalía.
[1] It is a Latin-infused ballad which blends Blake's electronic and UK bass style, trap drums and Rosalía's traditional flamenco influences.
James Blake was inspired to collaborate with Rosalía after his manager played her debut album Los ángeles to him; in an interview with iTunes, he related that he "honestly hadn't heard anything so vulnerable and raw and devastating in quite a while."
"[4] "Barefoot in the Park" was written by Blake, Rosalía and Paco Ortega, while its production was handled by the lead artist alongside Maker and Dan Foat.
"[10] Jon Pareles, writing for The New York Times, considered that the single was the only track off Assume Form to feature anything close to "one luminous, fully focused pop chorus [...] despite its minor key and somber descending chords.
Rosalía's verses use imagery of "the sun coming through the clouds and hitting you directly in the eye" to describe love, comparing it to a spiritual experience.
[15] The Observer's Kitty Empire considered the song "far more pleasing to the ear" than the collaborations with hip hop artists found on the album, describing it as a "humid and haunted thermal," though was somewhat critical of Blake's vocal performance which she claimed "has started resembling that of Chris Martin from Coldplay.
"[17] In his review of Assume Form for Stereogum, James Rettig wrote that Rosalía "wields an incredible power" on the track, and noted that it "could even get radio play if given the right push.
"[18] Wren Graves of Consequence of Sound applauded Rosalía's vocal performance, describing it as "like sunlight on cobwebs," and added that "Blake abandons all melodic restraint" before concluding that the song "gushes with loveliness.
"[19] One less enthusiastic review came from Pitchfork editor Philip Sherburne, who found the song's "tropical IDM beat and rising-and-falling melody [...] largely forgettable," though applauded Rosalía's "breathy warble" as its "best feature.