This is a very interesting and listenable album for me. Obviously McCraven's drumming is the star of the show, but the overall vibe and structure of the songs as being somewhat glitchy, constantly-building jazz tracks makes it a pretty unique listen for the genre. I am not super familiar with his work, but what I have heard in the past felt a little bit looser and more improvisational, while I can sense a firm structure to the songs here. This approach gives songs like "Dream Another" a lush fullness that might not have been present before; I could picture James Bond swooning a woman in a Bora Bora hotel bar to the song's beautiful flute interludes. The tight orchestration really shines on "Lullaby," as the dancing harp lines give way to staccato strings the eventually give way themselves to almost mournful sustained strings, all buoyed by McCraven's light, yet commanding rhythms. Another big highlight for me is the marimba of "So Ubuji."
Reviewed on Tuesday, January 31st, 2023, 10:00am.
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