Plenty of musical artists combine their artistry with personal and political activism. Northeast collective Irreversible Entanglements formed because of their activism, coming together in Brooklyn at a Musicians Against Police Brutality event. On their fifth album Future Present Past, bassist Luke Stewart, saxophonist Keir Neuringer, trumpeter Aquiles Navarro, drummer Tcheser Holmes, and vocalist Camae Ayewa (better known as Moor Mother) – plus special guest Motherboard – continue to hone their blend of free jazz, spiritual jazz, groove, and Ayewa’s biting poetry. Not to mention their message – in today’s ever more difficult times, it’d be easy, and perfectly acceptable, to react to society’s many ills with unfiltered rage. But IE choose a different path. While there’s certainly some anger here (check out the firestorm of instrumentation that opens “The Messenger”), the band’s main aim is to uplift, rather than depress. “Vibrate Higher,” “Keep Going,” and “Hold On” (only in the hands of an adventurous group like this one does that much-used, mold-encrusted title still hold meaning) remind us that we can survive, even transcend these troubled times – with strength, with purpose, and, most importantly, with each other. That makes Future Present Past not only a great album, but an important one.
