Now (Damon Locks album)

Last updated
NOW
Damon Locks - Now.jpg
Studio album by
Damon Locks and Black Music Ensemble
ReleasedApril 9, 2021 (2021-04-09)
RecordedExperimental Sound Studio, Chicago [1]
Genre
Length30:30
Label International Anthem
Damon Locks and Black Music Ensemble chronology
Where Future Unfolds
(2019)		NOW
(2021)		 New Future City Radio
(2023)

Now is the second studio album by American musician Damon Locks and his jazz ensemble Black Monument Ensemble. It was released on April 9, 2021, through International Anthem. [1]

Contents

Reception

Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar half.svgStar empty.svg [1]
Pitchfork 7.7/10 [2]
All About Jazz Star full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar full.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svgStar empty.svg [3]

Thom Jurek of AllMusic stated about the album, "Based on the profundity of its content and the jagged beauty in its execution, Now belongs in the pantheon of culturally important works" that "join socio-political polemics to spirituality and kaleidoscopically expressive art in edifying all who encounter them." [1] Pitchfork 's Steven Arroyo remarked that "NOW bleeds with the awareness that tomorrow is never guaranteed. The most self-affirming thing that you can do, then, is to claim your time, to fill it with your own noise." [2] Stereogum wrote "NOW is a document of a historic, shuddering year in real time, and as such it is not so much a definitive statement or a piece of documentary for something we were all still living through," [4] while All About Jazz described Now as "a mix of spoken word, jazz, gospel and other retained Africanisms." [3] The New York Times stated "On Now, Locks purposely left studio chatter on the album to underline the band's kinship." [5]

Track listing

No.TitleLength
1."Now (Forever Momentary Space)"7:05
2."The People Vs the Rest of Us"3:34
3."Keep Your Mind Free"5:54
4."Barbara Jones-Hogu and Elizabeth Catlett Discuss Liberation"1:55
5."Movement and You"1:38
6."The Body Is Electric"10:24
Total length:30:30

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Jurek, Thom. "Now - Black Monument Ensemble, Damon Locks". AllMusic . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  2. 1 2 Arroyo, Steven (April 13, 2021). "Damon Locks / Black Monument Ensemble: NOW Album Review". Pitchfork . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  3. 1 2 May, Chris (March 19, 2021). "Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble: Now". All About Jazz . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  4. ↑ Leas, Ryan (April 6, 2021). "Album Of The Week: Damon Locks & Black Monument Ensemble NOW". Stereogum . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
  5. ↑ Moore, Marcus (April 6, 2021). "Damon Locks and the Black Monument Ensemble's Spiritual, Funky Escape". New York Times . Retrieved March 3, 2025.
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