James Blake Album Review: Trying Times

Independent and creatively free, Blake returns sharpened and exploratory, cementing his place as one of the UK’s most distinctive voices.

There’s something seriously significant about Trying Times. As his first fully self-released project after stepping away from a major label, his seventh studio album marks a shift in perspective. Rather than feeling like a reset, it plays like a new arrival, a record that finds James Blake more intentional, self-assured and captivating than ever.

Despite leaving his machine of of a label, Blake feels more relevant than ever. Fresh off two nights performing at the soldout O2 alongside Dave and a run of standout singles, Trying Times lands with real intent. This is an artist with a clear creative vision, now fully in control of it, and building a community around it.

From the opening moments, the album sucks you in. The production feels almost weightless, spacious, experimental, and unmistakably Blake, but there’s a new level of polish. His signature eerie, melancholic sound is still present, but it’s matured. The emotions are familiar: longing, love, introspection.

Blake described the record as an evolution of The Colour in Anything, and the comparison is notable. There’s a similar emotional depth and openness, but Trying Times feels levels above. More refined, more cohesive. Where that earlier project sprawled, this one feels intentional and deeply cathartic. That sense of clarity is no accident, with his long-term girlfriend Jameela Jamil as executive producer, Blake said he was “completely in awe” of her contribution, crediting her with helping shape the record into its final form.

Regardless of having a phonebook most artists would dream of, he keeps the guestlist minimal here with features from Dave and Monica Martin only, with the Blake–Dave pairing once again proving it never misses. The cello charms your ears instantly, whilst Dave brings an intensity that never dwindles.

Across the album, samples drift in and out of focus - some instantly recognisable, others more obscure - but each carefully placed. There’s a tactility to the way the record is constructed; it feels designed to be sat with, like the kind of album that should only be played on Vinyl, not because it’s pretentious, but so the detail can fully breathe.

Standouts arrive early, with Death of Love leading the charge, an addictive, emotion-led single where Blake’s fragile falsetto glides over hazy bass and blurred synths. Then a quiet sense of paranoia seeps in, giving the song a lingering weight.

The title track embraces a delicate, tender palette, unfolding in gentle, reflective moments that feel truly beautiful - easily one of the most striking love songs I’ve heard in a long time, capturing what it means to hold onto love in the midst of chaos.

Flipping I Luv U by Dizzee Rascal, Days Go By emerges as a real gem. Blake’s distorted, ethereal vocals layered over such an iconic grime sample shouldn’t work on paper, but it’s definitely one of my favourites.

As a record, Trying Times feels like an artist creating without constraint. It’s confident, cohesive, and ambitious - a reminder that when James Blake leans fully into his own world, very few can match him.