James Blake – ‘Trying Times’ album review: The best of James Blake, essentially
If you can quite believe it, it’s been 15 years since James Blake released his self-titled debut album, a record that was touted at the time as being the future of electronic music, and a singular release from one of the UK’s most intuitive songwriters. His seventh album, Trying Times, is a far cry from this, but perhaps not in the way many would expect.
The Skinny: For a brief period, this prediction appeared to be coming true, with his second album, Overgrown, winning the coveted Mercury Prize in 2013, but while this album saw Blake continue to make waves, it began to highlight that there was far more to him as an artist than just his technical prowess as an electronic producer. Tender balladry also appeared to be a forte of his, and the compositions behind his warping downtempo innovations were a lot more advanced than many first suggested.
The thing is, time passes, trends disintegrate into forgotten fads, and if you’re not constantly proving yourself to be adaptable, then the world will grow weary of your work. However, Blake’s forays into other territories have been met with scepticism in the past, with his collaborative album alongside Lil Yachty raising many eyebrows, and a guest-laden record in Assume Form leaving some listeners cold because of its shortcomings in cementing him as one kind of artist or another.
While some listeners can’t quite decide which iteration of Blake they desire to hear most, his newfound independence after an ugly separation from his label has offered him the freedom to make his most diverse record to date in Trying Times, with it highlighting all of his strengths as an artist in refreshing ways.
If Blake has previously explored it at some point in his career, he’s refined it on Trying Times, an album that doesn’t shy away from having a broad range of influences being used to their full effect. Blake’s previous outings have shown that he can comfortably slip into jazz-tinged neo-soul, trap bangers or ethereal R&B depending on his current mood, but this is an album that amplifies each of these for a song at a time rather than spreads them too thinly.
Even when working with guest stars such as Dave and Monica Martin, Blake is malleable to their styles and strengths. Only someone with confidence in their artistry and a proven track record of showing that they can work in a variety of fields can do this and make it sound cohesive, and while the second half of Trying Times suffers from a little fatigue having opened so emphatically, it’s still one of the most one of the most intriguing things he’s done in a diverse career.
The Verdict: Blake is a different person now: more mature, and more eager to show that he’s explored different elements of the world around him, for better or worse. He may not have fulfilled the prophecy of becoming the ‘future of electronic music’ as we expected, but through a steadfast commitment to becoming a jack of multiple trades, he’s made a record that expertly showcases more sides to his artistry than we’ve ever been privy to before.
Standout Track: ‘Days Go By’
Release Date: March 13th, 2026 | Producer: James Blake, Dom Maker & Jameela Jamil | Label: Good Boy
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