In the Meantime

by Alessia Cara

Overview

Alessia Cara's note to fans in the booklet of her third album refers to extreme personal turbulence experienced since the making of The Pains of Growing, and explains that "the meantime" is what occurs between "birth and death, pain and joy." She attempts to make sense of it all here with help from a mostly new group of collaborators. Nearly every song on In the Meantime works through conflicting emotions with a profusion of metaphors. The approach is so common that it's striking when Cara switches tack on "You Let Me Down," a cathartic if casually delivered highlight that makes evident her ability to stun with simplicity. (The song is universal and pliant enough to be converted into a pop-punk anthem or a contemporary country ballad.) A breeziness to certain productions, and Cara's light melodic touch throughout, prevent the album from being an unqualified downer. "Sweet Dream," one of several songs produced by Growing collaborator Jon Levine, is depressive insomniac trap-pop with a sighing fantasy sequence in the chorus. "Somebody Else," made with Doc McKinney and Dylan Wiggins, would be ideal for a carefree skip through a sunlit cityscape if it wasn't for the sentiment of betrayal that surfaces early at "It was nice for a while." Assisted by Brandee Younger, soul provider Salaam Remi -- essentially filling the role Pop & Oak and No I.D. played on Cara's previous albums -- puts an Afro-Harping twist on the style he perfected with Back to Black through "Shapeshifter." It's a sullen shuffler in which Cara recounts an elusive romance with some of her cleverest phrasings. On the closing song, Cara and "You Let Me Down" producer Mike Wise finally let in the light with a mellow groove that at once comes across as a sequel to "Four Pink Walls" and a nod to Ari Lennox's "New Apartment." From start to finish, lolling hooks flood Cara's mind as much as indecision, skepticism, and other negative thoughts. They make all the bad stuff go down easy, enabling the listener to have a proper sulk that soothes. ~ Andy Kellman

Product Details

Release Date:	09/24/2021
Label:	Def Jam
UPC:	0602438615438

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Alessia Cara   Primary Artist,Drums,Vocals
CHIKA   Primary Artist,Featured Artist
Johann Deterville   Percussion,Synthesizer Bass,Bass,Piano,Keyboards
Dylan Wiggins   Bass,Guitar,Keyboards
Spencer Stewart   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion
Jason Evigan   Keyboards,Guitar
Jon Levine   Bass,Drums,Piano,Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion
Joel Little   Guitar,Keyboards
Doc McKinney   Keyboards,Percussion
Aaron Paris   Strings
Bianca McClure   Strings
Jake Torrey   Guitar
Andrew McAnsh   Trumpet
Cameron Bright   Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Halitrax   Keyboards,Percussion
Vincent Henry   Guitar
Salaam Remi   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Percussion
Greg Kurstin   Bass,Drums,Guitar,Keyboards
Brandee Younger   Harp
Jeff Halatrax   Keyboards,Percussion
Herag Sanbalian   Bass,Guitar
Mike Wise   Guitar,Keyboards,Percussion
Andrew McEnaney   Drums

Technical Credits

Mary Chen   Photography
Shay Young   A&R
Milos Angelov   Composer
Kyle Harvey   Composer
Yannick Rastogi   Composer
Julian Burg   Engineer,Recording
Dylan Wiggins   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Spencer Stewart   Composer,Producer,Programming,Vocal Producer
Jason Evigan   Composer,Producer,Vocal Producer
Jon Levine   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Joel Little   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording,Drum Programming
Cameron Breithaupt   Composer
Doc McKinney   Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Johann Deterville   Composer
Caroline Ailin   Composer
Spencer Sunshine   Mixing,Engineer,Recording
Alessia Caracciolo   Composer
Mathieu Jomphe Lepine   Composer
Alessia Cara   Composer,Engineer,Recording,Creative Director
Soran Dussaigne   Composer
Zacharie Raymond   Composer
Banx & Ranx   Producer,Recording
Jake Torrey   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Don Mills   Producer,Recording,Engineer,Producer
CHIKA   Composer
YogiTheProducer   Engineer,Producer,Recording
Clement Langlois-Legare   Composer
James Ronkko   Design
Stewart Sunshine   Recording
Jason Peerless   A&R
Cameron Bright   Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Halitrax   Engineer,Producer,Programming
Jane Oranika   Composer
Chris Gehringer   Mastering,Mastering Engineer
Charles Trenet   Composer
Joe Zook   Mixing
Salaam Remi   Mixing,Composer,Producer
Boi-1da   Engineer,Producer,Recording
DJ Ranx   Engineer,Producer
Manny Marroquin   Mixing
Dan Cinelli   Engineer,Recording
Ryan Evans   Engineer,Recording
Greg Kurstin   Composer,Engineer,Producer,Recording
Nathan Ferraro   Composer
Albert Beach   Composer
Billboard   Engineer,Producer
Bruce Carbone   A&R
Michael Wise   Composer
Martin McKinney   Composer
Evan Peters   A&R
Banx   Engineer,Producer
Jeff Halatrax   Producer,Recording
Matthew Samuels   Composer
Herag Sanbalian   Producer
Albert A. Beach   Composer
Alyssa Reid   Composer
Jeff Halavacs   Composer
Mike Wise   Engineer,Producer,Recording,Programming
Andy Proctor   Package Production
Jamie Appleby   Composer