Buy Now
| Buy on |
|
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
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 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 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 13, 2026Trying Times may not have much to say about our age, but the tunes are undoubtedly worth hearing.
-
Mar 12, 2026Blake’s lyrics often circle ideas rather than landing on them, leaving some songs feeling like emotional sketches. But that ambiguity is part of the album’s appeal. These songs feel lived-in and unresolved, the way real relationships often are.
-
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 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 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.
-
UncutMar 30, 2026The naked, more soul-leaning titke track works nicely, as do the almost cosmic jazz explorations of "Didn't Come To argue" featuring Monica Martin), but for all the heavy sentiment and weight here, the results sometimes feel hollow. [May 2026, p.26]
-
Mar 24, 2026Even if it doesn’t feel like a groundbreaking return, many tracks here align with his ingenious artistic consistency.
-
Mar 13, 2026Although it’s perfectly pleasant, Trying Times, as a whole, seldom rises above a serviceable standard.
Awards & Rankings
There are no user reviews yet.