[1] Coxon spent time, what he described as "awkward afternoons", contributing on some tracks on the album, but left the band in 2002 after he had a "mental breakdown" during these sessions.

[6] In February 2003, it was revealed that the album would be titled Think Tank and the lead single "Out of Time" would be premiered on 3 March, on BBC Radio 1,[8] followed by a commercial release on 14 April 2003, by Parlophone.

[13][14] It starts with a distant "aaaarrgh" in the opening seconds,[15] before Albarn's unadulterated vocals and "steady, simplistic drums", as well as "ethereal, hard-to-identify" noises.

Alex Needham from NME called it the band's "most straightforwardedly touching single for ages",[17] while Paul Moody from the same magazine praised the song too, stating that Albarn "sings in a voice so pure, clear and welcoming you want to have a shower in it", and "suddenly 'Songbird' doesn't sound so clever after all".

[18] Sal Cinquemani from Slant Magazine thought that "Out of Time" is "lovely",[19] whereas Barry Walters from Rolling Stone called it a "gorgeously mournful single".

[22] Devon Powers of PopMatters described the track as "a much more straightforward, apace ballad" compared to the previous song on the album, "Ambulance".

[10] Rob Brunner from Entertainment Weekly commented that Albarn's "heartfelt vocals" make up for "sappy" lyrics,[23] while Paste's Jeff Elbel called the track the finest moment on Think Tank.

[24] Andrew Future of Drowned in Sound commented that the song "is content to swoon around the string-laiden waves of its own longing beauty, but only reveals its full worth after repeated visits".

[28] In a less positive review, Stephen Thomas Erlewine of AllMusic called the track a "hushed, melancholic elegy in the same vein as 'To the End' and 'Tender', though not as good as either".

[29] Jazz Monroe from NME placed the song at number two on their list of Blur's greatest hits, saying it "magically thrusts Damon's romantic resignation into a delicate, geographically displaced tale of modern ennui, melting all but the stoniest hearts".

[31] Drowned in Sound's Sean Adams included "Out of Time" on his list of Blur's favorite tracks, noting how Albarn's "humanity" on his voice "elevates this gentle, seemingly desolate song into something devastating and full of wonder".

[42][43] The accompanying music video was directed by John Hardwick, edited by Quin Williams and produced by Mike Wells through London-based production company Helen Langridge Associates (HLA).

[49] The video is centred around a woman who is separated from her partner (a marine serving on another ship) and her young son who remains at home in the United States.

[58] "Out of Time" was added to the setlist of the tour in support of their eighth studio album The Magic Whip in 2015[59] and the band also performed it at their two Wembley Stadium shows in July 2023.