James Blake “Trying Times” Review
Written by Mike Golembo & Frank Hoffman
James Blake’s Trying Times is a beautiful and mature record that embraces love amid chaos— it’s also a brilliant showcase for the many sides of its author.
Genre is a foreign concept on Trying Times, James Blake’s latest project. Blake has never been one to conform (now ‘assume’ form, he has you there), so why not mix ballads, house music, and UK rap all in one go? The clash, the chaos, it’s all an embodiment of the turmoil inhabiting an artist during the creative process.
“You’re no good to anyone, dead”, are the first poignant lyrics on the opening song “Walk Out Music”, setting the tone from the start. Combined with loud boisterous synths and creeping 808s that unsettle the listener and refuse to bring any sense of ease, we’re now prepared to set off on a perilous, unpredictable journey with Blake.
This journey isn’t all completely unfamiliar. The tracklist features Blake’s signature crooning, ominous loops, and haunting piano chords that are all staples of his discography. The unexpectedness of what we’re going to hear next however, is what sets this album apart. And over this soundscape, we get a glimpse into the personal struggles of balancing a hectic life and love, with the underlying theme of being scared to end up alone. Though this is cause for concern, it is also the motivation he needs to keep pushing through the pain.
James Blake by Robbie Lawrence
After thinking we’ve settled into the melancholy through the first quarter of the record, is where Blake transitions to album highlight “Make Something Up”. Working off a Motown-adjacent sample, absent of the usual piano keys, the song recalls a series of events that culminate each time in the indescribable, a search for the right word: ‘Why don’t we make something up?’ It’s a question, sure, but also an instruction, keeping him close to his partner and creating agency in an unclear universe.
A bob and weave through several arcs of emotion and uncertainty provides the listener that same precarious feeling. Whether it’s showcasing his known ability to produce a banger hip-hop record on “Doesn’t Just Happen” with a showstopping verse from UK rapper Dave, or a callback to his club era on “Rest of Your Life”, Blake understands how to keep an audience on their toes.
The album ends bringing us back to center, a mellow piano ballad in “Just a Little Higher” that touches the soul and gives a full display of Blake’s controlled and delicate vocals. It’s a fitting conclusion, an appreciated comedown after the turbulence. These are trying times, but they’re times well spent.
Occult Highlights: Make Something Up, Doesn’t Just Happen, Rest of Your Life, Trying Times, Didn’t Come to Argue, Days Go By
(… but we recommend you spin the whole thing, embrace the love and tune out the chaos)
8.5/10
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