James Blake: Trying Times review – platitudes about politics and Kanye can’t detract from an excellent album

(Good Boy) Amid the stylistic shifts of Blake’s seventh record come samples of Dusty Springfield and Dizzee Rascal: gripping distractions from some preachy sentiments Of all the things you might expect from a James Blake album – exquisite minimalism, plaintive vocal distortion, appearances from hip-hop’s great and good – chin-stroking socio0political commentary probably isn’t one of them. But as the title suggests, our current predicament is precisely what the 37-year-old aims to address on h...

By Rachel Aroesti