Recording took place at Livingston and Iguana studios, both of which are in London, and lasted for four weeks, with Giles and Charlie Andrew handling co-production.

The music incorporates grooves, which were aided by bassist Jim Glennie, drummer David Baynton-Power, Andrew, and Giles.

Living in Extraordinary Times received generally positive reviews from music critics, some of whom noted James' attempt to challenge listeners' expectations.

[1] In June and September of that year, the band began writing songs for their next album at Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield.

[2][3] Following a tour across the United Kingdom in December 2016, James returned to Sheffield to edit existing material, and write new songs.

[4][5] Pre-production took place in July 2017 at Yellow Arch with vocalist Tim Booth, bassist Jim Glennie, multi-instrumentalist Saul Davies, and keyboardist Mark Hunter.

Engineers Dan Moyler and Billy Halliday handled recording, with assistance from Tom Archer and Henri Davis.

[16] Booth said Andrew and Giles reminded James of their prior collaborations with Brian Eno, with the unpredictable nature of the sessions.

[8][15] Booth recorded the ending vocal part of "What's It All About" while walking around London's Wood Green district with Giles, who handled the microphone.

[17] The band eventually ran out of money as well as time to work on additional tracks; Booth had wished to make a double album, but their label halted plans for one.

[16] There’s this polarization in [the United States] going on, between this small-minded narrative of, 'me, me, me – my country, my career, make America white again,' and the more expansive, inclusive consciousness of, 'We are all one.

[22] Living in Extraordinary Times has been described as an indie rock release,[23] incorporating elements of the music of U2, Underworld, Interpol, the Killers, the Courteeners, and Keane.

[16] A few years previously, Glennie started playing what Booth called "sexy" grooves, which made their way into new material.

[23] Its title is a reference to one of James' earlier songs "Come Home" (1989); the music recalls the sound of their fourth studio album Seven (1992).

[36] The track starts with an acoustic guitar and a Mariachi-style trumpet part that builds up to the line, "There's only one human race, many faces, everyone belongs here.

[39] The slow-tempo folk track "How Hard the Day" revolves around single-note guitar lines and focuses on the vocal melody.

[8] "Mask" is the song on Living in Extraordinary Times most reminiscent of Girl at the End of the World, centring around a keyboard part, and incorporating acoustic guitar.

[46] "What's It All About" was edited down from an hour's worth of jam sessions into seven minutes; Booth said the final version lasted that long because he wanted to work on a lot of different parts.

[27] "Overdose" is an early iteration of "Extraordinary Times", which Diagram referred to as "a good example of how James songs are never fixed & always developing.

[56] Two days later, Better Than That was released; two of its tracks that would later appear on Living in Extraordinary Times ("Better Than That" and "Hank"), while the other two ("Busted" and "Broken by the Hurt") did not.

[58] "Coming Home (Pt.2)" was debuted on BBC Radio 2; its music video, which was directed by Leif Tilden, premiered through Clash's website.

[60][61] Living in Extraordinary Times was released on 3 August 2018, through BMG-imprint Infectious Music; the deluxe edition includes an extra track "Backwards Glances", and the demos "Moving Car", "Overdose", and "Trouble".

[8] To promote the release of Living in Extraordinary Times, James played some radio sessions, and did an acoustic, in-store performance.

[9][69] In March 2019, James embarked on another UK tour; instead of having a support act, the band played an extra acoustic set before their shows.

[72] Before and after their US tour, James played at festivals in Greece, Italy, France, the UK, Spain, and Portugal, which ran into September 2019.

"[26] Express & Star's Leigh Sanders called Living in Extraordinary Times a "wonderful" release that is complete with "thumping percussion, [and] witty lyrics," and said although it is "perhaps a tad long," the album deserves to be "heard from start to finish.

"[24] In a review for Louder Than War, Martin Unsworth called it a "challenging album" that could "divide hard-core fans but will certainly stand the test of time.

"[25] The Observer editor Damien Morris was impressed the band showed capability of "still writing songs that swing for the furthest festival fences.

"[78] Aug Stone of Under the Radar said James "continue to play with our expectations both sonically and melodically ... taking chances that pay off most of the time.

"[27] According to AllMusic reviewer Stephen Thomas Erlewine, the album is "a little exhausting for those who aren't true believers" but it can "prove to be fascinating for the dedicated sort who choose immersion over skimming.