Makaya McCraven has been working on “In These Times” for seven years, all while also putting out a series of incredible albums (see last year’s “Deciphering the Message”). “In These Times” is a labor of love, a big, bold statement from McCraven. These songs show why McCraven is so great—he’s not only a fantastic drummer, but he’s also a talented composer and arranger: so many of the tracks on “In These Times” are bustling, bursting with ideas, little textures that color the margins of the songs, business that you only notice on the third or fourth listen (but not business that makes the songs sound busy or overwhelming). One of the best and most vital albums I’ve heard this year, “In These Times” really does feel like a culmination of what McCraven’s been doing since “Highly Rare.”
“In These Times” opens with the title track, which itself opens with live applause and crowd noise, then strings and marimba or vibraphone, then an incredible spoken word excerpt, taken from the Studs Terkel Radio Archive, about continuing to fight for progress and owing that fight to the many people who have died to “build this tunnel.” When you listen to this song a couple times, you notice that just as the drums enter, the sampled applause now settles into a complementary rhythm as well. Right as the spoken word excerpt ends, the whole band moves into a big, sweeping phrase, a harp comes in, it’s all very pretty and striking. In the middle section of the song, a sax solo sets off searching out every corner of the song, seeking the limit.
“The Fours” is a perfect example of McCraven making a song that feels like it might have a thousand parts still feel effortless. “The Fours” is the kind of song you listen to closely and only then realize the sheer amount of effort and labor that must have gone into making it, because it all feels like it fits so well together. Bass, harp, violin, guitar, sax, and incredibly varied percussion. Horns moving together. The percussion complicates everything into a nice groove that the band stays with for a minute or so, then there’s a break, into a new phase, sorrowful, strong violin presence, handclaps and harp.
“Dream Another” starts with stuttering drums, guitar riff, keys, and harp. It settles into cool, laidback groove that makes way for a straight-up incredible flute solo from De’Sean Jones, who drops out and comes back in throughout the track. Also major highlight here is the super-melodic bass playing from Junius Paul. One thing to note about this track (and so many tracks on the album) is that McCraven, who is an awesome drummer, never really shows off—or he does, kind of, but in a really understated way. He’s always there, adding something interesting, some percussive texture, some wild but totally fitting beat. There are a few exceptions to this—he’s really out there in front on “This Place That Place” (which is mind-boggling), “Seventh String,” and “The Knew Untitled”—but for the most part he’s doing the classic bandleader thing of letting other players shine and bring his compositions to life, providing the best possible frame for their work.