Living in Extraordinary Times is the 15th studio album by British rock band James. It was released on 3 August 2018, through Infectious Music. A few months after the release of the band's 14th studio album, Girl at the End of the World in 2016, work began on a new album. Writing and three weeks of jam sessions followed, with engineer Beni Giles appearing partway through the sessions. 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. Described as an indie rock record with elements of electronica, the album drew comparisons with the music of U2, the Killers, and the Courteeners. 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. It peaked at number six in the United Kingdom, while also charting in Belgium and Portugal. "Hank" was released as the lead single in May 2018, and was followed by a tour of the UK. The second single "Many Faces" was released in July of that year amid a series of festival performances. Continuous touring for the album, which consisted of both headlining tours and festival appearances, saw the band play shows across Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, Europe and the United States, including co-headlining tours with the Charlatans and the Psychedelic Furs.

James released their 14th studio album Girl at the End of the World through BMG in March 2016. In June and September of that year, the band began writing songs for their next album at Yellow Arch Studios in Sheffield. Following a tour across the United Kingdom in December 2016, James returned to Sheffield to edit existing material, and write new songs. 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. The process consisted of three weeks of jam sessions, and wrote new material together with a drum machine. The band wanted to continue with the drum experimentation they had been doing on their 13th studio album La Petite Mort (2014) and Girl at the End of the World, on which they use less organic-sounding drums.

James spent six hours per day jamming on ideas for songs across six or seven jam sessions – all of which they recorded. The band intended to go back to the jams and shape them into song structures. After Booth wrote lyrics, James planned to work with a producer who could bring another perspective to the material. Booth brought in engineer Beni Giles during the second week of pre-production to help record the jams. When he was writing "Heads", Booth asked Giles to alter the drums; the latter was initially hesitant as he said he was producer and not an editor. Giles came up with a part Booth really liked, and as a result of this, the band kept inviting Giles to the jam sessions. James accumulated over 100 jam recordings, and took around 10 of them home to continue working on. Trumpeter Andy Diagram was invited to join Booth in Los Angeles, California, where they edited some of the jams.

Booth was in contact with Charlie Andrew after he produced Alt-J's debut studio album An Awesome Wave (2012). Booth said its crisp sound reminded him of Radiohead's OK Computer (1997), and he decided he wanted to work with Andrew. Andrew agreed to record with James after he saw them perform live, and he was introduced to Giles. Glennie said they had attempted to work with Andrew for the previous three studio albums. Living in Extraordinary Times was recorded at Livingston Studio rooms 1 & 2 and Iguana Studios, both of which are located in London, with Andrew and Giles serving as producers. Engineers Dan Moyler and Billy Halliday handled recording, with assistance from Tom Archer and Henri Davis.

Booth said Andrew and Giles reminded James of their prior collaborations with Brian Eno, with the unpredictable nature of the sessions. 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. 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. Recording lasted four consecutive weeks from October to November 2017, before Booth flew back to the United States. He returned in December and finished the vocals, prior to a show in Manchester. Andrew and Giles mixed the recordings with assistance from Jay Pocknell and Katie Earl, and the recordings were mastered by Dick Beetham.

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.'

The album's title, Living in Extraordinary Times, refers to political and social movements that are intertwined in ways people are unable to comprehend, such as Brexit, Me Too and Black Lives Matter. Booth often wrote what he felt were his best lyrics in the early hours of the morning. He would wake up at 4AM, and be unable to go back to sleep because he had a line in his head. Writing the line down spurred Booth to write more lyrics without putting much thought into them. Further lyrical inspiration was drawn from the works of Yuval Noah Harari, David Mitchell, and Michael Pollan. Donald Trump was initially a dominant theme on the album; Booth lives in Topanga Canyon, California, and witnessed Trump become president. The Trump material was later pared down to a few references on some of the tracks, including "Hank" and "Many Faces".