Arif Smith

Damon Locks Black Monument Ensemble: Now

by Chris May
March 19, 2021

Chicago-based collective Black Monument Ensemble's sophomore album was recorded in September 2020 at the intersection of various existential crises, as seen from a US perspective: the threat of Trump winning the presidential election, by fair means or foul; the rising tide of fascist ideology; extrajudicial murders of, in particular but not exclusively, black Americans; a galloping pandemic; economic chaos; and social isolation. Given the circumstances, it is no surprise that Now sounds apocalyptic. But it is also ...