James Blake details new album, ‘Trying Times’, and shares lead single
James Blake has returned with news of his next album, Trying Times, shepherded in with a hypnotic first single, ‘Death Of Love’.
Fans of the singer-songwriter might have noticed a website published by Blake three days ago, named ‘tryingtimes.info’; users who entered the password TryingTimes were taken to an album announcement.
This statement read: “Hi everyone. As a thank you for your support on here, I wanted to share some news with you first. I’ve finished my next record and will be releasing it soon. I’m going to share a song with you and also offer a special first press vinyl edition of the album. The listen & purchase link will be live for 72 hours.”
He added sheepishly, “I can’t wait for you the hear the new record, it’s incredibly special.” Along with the message, Blake posted pre-save and pre-order links, and a stream of a new song with a rapper who has now been confirmed as Dave.
As such, now the exclusive window is over, Blake has formally announced that Trying Times is slated for a March 13th release, shared in official channels with the hypnotic, brooding single ‘Death of Love’. Fans may recognise the single, as Blake played it live several times in 2022.
Blake’s last release was in 2023, where he returned to his roots with the dynamic Playing Robots Into Heaven, following 2021’s introspective, lockdown-fuelled Friends That Break Your Heart.
Far Out gave Playing Robots in Heaven three stars, observing, “Despite its broader innovative appeal, Playing Robots Into Heaven occasionally veers into a deliberately undefined direction that may come across as somewhat distant. However, the moments of clarity and strength within the album undeniably affirm Blake’s standing as a pioneering artist in the field.”
Along with the official recording, Blake has also posted a live performance video of ‘Death of Love’ by Harrison Adair, featuring the London Welsh Men’s Choir. Watch the impressive video below.
See the full tracklist below.
James Blake — ‘Trying Times’ tracklist:
- ‘Walk Out Music’
- ‘Death Of Love’
- ‘I Had A Dream She Took My Hand’
- ‘Trying Times’
- ‘Make Something Up’
- ‘Didn’t Come To Argue’ (Feat. Monica Martin)
- ‘Days Go By’
- ‘Doesn’t Just Happen’ (Feat. Dave)
- ‘Obsession’
- ‘Rest Of Your Life’
- ‘Through The High Wire’
- ‘Feel It Again’
- ‘Just A Little Higher’
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