Three days ago James Blake published a website at tryingtimes.info. Users who entered the password TryingTimes (Blake is apparently not much for cybersecurity) were directed to a page with the following message from Blake announcing a new album:
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.
I can’t wait for you the hear the new record, it’s incredibly special.
Along with the message were pre-save and pre-order links for the new LP and a stream of a new Blake song featuring a rapper who sure sounded a lot like Dave. Those who've heard Dave's The Boy Who Played The Harp probably have some idea how it sounded, given that Blake produced four songs on that album and sang on two of them. But yeah: It was a dark, elegant, quietly booming production that works well as a canvas for Dave's rugged poetics. It almost came off more like a Dave song with a James Blake hook than a new James Black track.
Today, the 72-hour countdown is over, and we can officially report that Blake's new album Trying Times will be out March 13. There's a Dave collab on there called "Doesn’t Just Happen," which is probably the mysterious collab in question. Meanwhile, a different James Blake song is out there in the world, this one without an emcee. "Death Of Love" has been kicking around for years; Blake performed it live several times in 2022. It's a ghostly slow-creep that sounds very much like Blake in his bag, full of booming bass, florid synths, and that unmistakable voice. It's the most excited I've been about a new James Blake song in a minute.
Below, check out the studio recording of "Death Of Live" and a live performance video by Harrison Adair, featuring the London Welsh Men's Choir.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Walk Out Music"
02 "Death Of Love"
03 "I Had A Dream She Took My Hand"
04 "Trying Times"
05 "Make Something Up"
06 "Didn’t Come To Argue" (Feat. Monica Martin)
07 "Days Go By"
08 "Doesn’t Just Happen" (Feat. Dave)
09 "Obsession"
10 "Rest Of Your Life"
11 "Through The High Wire"
12 "Feel It Again"
13 "Just A Little Higher"
Trying Times is out 3/13 via Good Boy Records.
