• Record Label: Nonesuch
  • Release Date: Sep 23, 2022
Metascore
87

Universal acclaim - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 11
  3. Negative: 0 out of 11
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  1. Oct 31, 2022
    82
    In These Times is an alluring listen because it is multi-faceted and fun.
  2. 80
    This isn’t just required listening; it’s also a realization that McCraven’s efforts offer us a glimmer of hope – somehow lifting us up and pushing us towards the heavens.
  3. Oct 24, 2022
    80
    The strength of In These Times is in its considered arrangements. The melodies take center stage rather than solely the kinetic rhythmic attack McCraven can unleash whenever he pleases. And when he pleases, his percussion charts can hit with a ferocity that shudders like drum licks plucked from a lengthy Fela-meets James-Brown after-hours live session.
  4. Oct 7, 2022
    80
    A challenging yet continually beautiful project, ‘In These Times’ contains a terrific sense of unity, one that belies the lengthy manner of its gestation. An ode to community, it’s a record that carries a very special charm.
  5. Sep 27, 2022
    80
    In These Times is more elegant, and more ambitious.
  6. Sep 26, 2022
    80
    There is a feeling of generous unspooling here, with hip-hop breakbeats (on one standout, Dream Another) and nods to machine-made music in among the sumptuous orchestral and genre-agnostic instrumentation.
  7. Sep 23, 2022
    90
    In These Times accumulated an arresting abundance of ideas, sounds, textures, and styles. The album is its own jazz labyrinth, and as such is destined for repeated listening and startling discovery.
  8. The Wire
    Sep 21, 2022
    80
    Throughout In These Times McCraven displays a preternatural ability at composing outside of 4/4 time, his oddly metred pieces built upon ear-catching melodies and dynamic rhythmic interplay. ... In These Times encompasses the fire and natural eclecticism found in the best contemporary jazz.
  9. Sep 21, 2022
    90
    It works wonderfully camping on a relaxed beach or in the most ostentatious concert venue, worthy of rigorous intellectual inspection yet just as easy to get high and chill to. ... It gives something wholly original to the culture in a way similar to what Will 'Quantic' Holland did when he launched the Quantic Soul Orchestra in 2003.
  10. Mojo
    Sep 21, 2022
    80
    Where his breakthrough LPS deftly shaped improvisations into compositions, In These Times reverses the trick - adding textural depth and layer upon layer of intrigue to McCraven's emotionally-charged meditations on life and identity. [Oct 2022, p.80]
  11. Sep 21, 2022
    90
    There’s a tenderness to the way he puts the instruments in conversation with one another, drawing out Younger’s harp and Macie Stewart’s melancholy violin solo. That’s ultimately what makes this record so powerful, even if you’re not familiar with its touchstones: by colliding the past with the present, McCraven makes a point of making progress. [Oct 2022, p.24]

Awards & Rankings

User Score
7.4

Generally favorable reviews- based on 9 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 9
  2. Negative: 1 out of 9
  1. Aug 24, 2023
    8
    Amazing effort, very cool jazz project. For a novice like me it kept me on toes from front to back as each and every time I listened to it wasAmazing effort, very cool jazz project. For a novice like me it kept me on toes from front to back as each and every time I listened to it was a true delight.
    Tracks have a beautiful changing pace and demonstrate a huge panel of sounds and textures underlined by many diverse instruments.
    'The Title' is very accessible, chill and soft.
    Percussions on 'So Ubuji' are very funny and goes slowly wild in a perfect way.
    The second half of 'Lullaby' must be my favorite movement of the whole album, with this piano part coming out poetically. The eponymous title 'In These Times' that begins the album also is terrific, especially its long crescendo.
    Its is for me a must-listen as a recent album far all who is concerned or wants to get involved in jazz music.
    Full Review »
  2. Oct 10, 2022
    9
    Beim ersten Mal, klick und klack, es fusioniert im rhythmischen und „gedämpften“ Tamtam. Alle Instrumente klingen. Liebe und Zuneigung fürBeim ersten Mal, klick und klack, es fusioniert im rhythmischen und „gedämpften“ Tamtam. Alle Instrumente klingen. Liebe und Zuneigung für diese Arbeit und gute Zeit. Full Review »