We're New Again: A Reimagining by Makaya McCraven
by Gil Scott-Heron
  • Record Label: XL
  • Release Date: Feb 7, 2020
Metascore
89

Universal acclaim - based on 10 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 10
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 10
  3. Negative: 0 out of 10
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  1. The Wire
    Mar 3, 2020
    90
    This remake justifies the whole shebang. So perfect is the fit, in fact, that it feels uncannily like Scott-Heron’s sonorous rasp must have been recorded to fit this backing. ... Though often dark, this is both a celebration and a vindication: a truly great album. [Mar 2020, p.56]
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  2. Clash Music
    Feb 7, 2020
    90
    Makaya McCraven breathes new life into not only the album but Scott-Heron’s legacy.
  3. The Line of Best Fit
    Feb 5, 2020
    90
    With clever twists of post-production, Makaya chops and resamples not only his own band but also choice words and phrases of each stanza, making the poetry a percussive element and drawing out emphasis. A decade after his death, Gil Scot-Heron’s final oeuvre has finally settled into something great.
  5. Uncut
    Feb 5, 2020
    90
    Opening up the album to new ideas and interpretations without obscuring the man himself. [Mar 2020, p.35]
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  6. Pitchfork
    Feb 7, 2020
    86
    The ability to live with such contradictions and give them life with his words is part of what made Scott-Heron’s work special, and McCraven’s music inhabits that complicated space and keeps its sharp edges intact.
  7. Dusted Magazine
    Feb 20, 2020
    80
    McCraven lays down a lush musical backdrop that allows Scott-Heron’s words to have emotional impact.
  8. AllMusic
    Feb 7, 2020
    80
    It's the work of a master musician/producer paying wonderful tribute to Scott-Heron for sure, but it's also a fully realized McCraven album, chock-full of his instrumental, arrangement, and production prowess. If you didn't know better, you'd swear this was a collaborative date.
  9. The Guardian
    Feb 7, 2020
    80
    By sampling and placing his work within the radical future of Chicago’s jazz scene, McCraven honours Scott-Heron’s memory anew.
  10. Q Magazine
    Feb 5, 2020
    80
    The result is a pitch-perfect homage to the old master, whose voice resonates as powerfully as it did a decade ago. [Mar 2020, p.120]
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  11. Exclaim
    Feb 5, 2020
    80
    What makes We're New Again so fascinating lies in the fact that Makaya McCraven benevolently and sonically recognizes Gil Scott-Heron's grief, joy, and legacy, making sure these vital expressions remain the album's true focus.

Awards & Rankings

12
#12 Best Album of 2020

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