Fairly or not, Blackshaw has come to represent the "academic" side of the acoustic guitar (as opposed to the raw American Primitive sound of the late Jack Rose), so it's a surprising and somewhat ballsy move to put aside the full, resonant sound of a 12-string acoustic for the staccato feel of the electric guitar, with all the rock baggage that instrument carries.
NPR: First Listen: James Blackshaw, 'All Is Falling'