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- Summary: James Blake's first independent release under his own label features guest appearances by Dave and Monica Martin.
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- Record Label: Good Boy Records
- Genre(s): Electronic, Alternative
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Score distribution:
- Positive: 7 out of 8
- Mixed: 1 out of 8
- Negative: 0 out of 8
- Mar 12, 2026A record that couldn’t be more consistently him. It paints this, his seventh studio album, as a compendium of his best parts, and perhaps his first to truly do so.
- Mar 12, 2026It may not be Blake’s most musically or emotionally commanding, but it has a clarity, honesty, and depth that make it a welcome addition to both his discography and the anxious times we’re living in.
- Mar 12, 2026Trying Times falters slightly in its final third – “Obsession” registers more as a sketch than a song – but these are minor frictions in a record whose emotional logic is otherwise unerring.
- Mar 13, 2026Trying Times may not have much to say about our age, but the tunes are undoubtedly worth hearing.
- Mar 13, 2026While it certainly has its darker moments, Trying Times is never maudlin. The album is shot through with Blake’s wit and dry humor—which is also what makes its moments of frank sincerity so compelling.
- Mar 12, 2026These detours feel slightly random up against some of the most unadventurous tracks in his catalog, like the smoky ballad “Didn’t Come to Argue.” Like most of his albums, Trying Times could use a little editing, but that’s part-and-parcel of the James Blake package these days.
- Mar 13, 2026Although it’s perfectly pleasant, Trying Times, as a whole, seldom rises above a serviceable standard.
