English singer-songwriter James Blake has returned with the single ‘Death of Love,’ released on January 22, 2026, via Good Boy Records
Following an almost 3-year break since the release of his previous solo project, Playing Robots Into Heaven, English singer-songwriter James Blake has returned with the first taste of his next album, Trying Times, with the moody and soulful ‘Death of Love.’ Backed by production from long-term partner Jameela Jamil and Blake himself, the foundation of the track is an atmospheric sample of Leonard Cohen’s 2016 track ‘You Want It Darker,’ which perfectly sets the tone both sonically and thematically by opening the track with a refrain of “Hineni, Hineni, Hineni” over a single, droning hi-hat.
A Hebrew word that means “Here I am” as it pertains to one's faith in God, the death of love for which Blake is referring to is immediately put into perspective, not necessarily the death of a romantic love, but of a spiritual one.
This theme is further contextualized by Blake’s first lines, “I don't know how we got here / I think we might be sleeping / I think we might be walking to the death of love,” sung over heavy 808s that add to the overall moodiness of the track. “We” may be potentially referring to society at large rather than Blake and an individual person.
Further credence is lent to this theory with lines like “Is there no good faith? / Is our love misplaced?” or “Everything feels different / People are losing interest / In the best of love.”
The outro of the song begins with an instrumental break in which the drums and ambiance of the sample are given full room to breathe, with the echoes of Blake’s vocals lingering hauntingly in the background before what sounds like the beeps of Morse code come in to close the track out. Overall, it’s a very enjoyable song that feels like a fitting introduction to the world of the forthcoming Trying Times album.
