User ratings in Music are temporarily disabled. More info
- Summary: James Blake's first independent release under his own label features guest appearances by Dave and Monica Martin.
Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Record Label: Good Boy Records
- Genre(s): Electronic, Alternative
- More Details and Credits »
Score distribution:
-
Positive: 9 out of 12
-
Mixed: 3 out of 12
-
Negative: 0 out of 12
-
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 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, 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 25, 2026Trying Times continues a trend of the abstract and foggy elements of Blake's artistry falling away, and he manages to make this transition without fully shedding the mystery that made his earlier sound so intriguing.
-
Mar 24, 2026It’s not Blake’s most immediate album, and probably not his most consistent. But it might be one of his most honest, not because it says more, but because it leaves more unsaid.
-
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.