In The Meantime

## ***In The Meantime***Studio album by Alessia Cara

### Producer(s)

Jon Levine, Cameron Bright, Boi 1da, YogiTheProducer, Don Mills, Banx & Ranx, Salaam Remi, Mike Wise, Doc McKinney, Dylan Wiggins, Greg Kurstin, Jason Evigan, Spencer Stewart, Billboard, Halatrax, Jake Torrey, Hrag Sanbalian, Joel Little

## Singles

1. "Sweet Dream"
Released: July 15, 2021
2. "Shapeshifter"
Released: July 15, 2021

***In The Meantime*** is the name of the third studio album by Alessia Cara. It was released on September 24, 2021 through Def Jam Recordings. Cara collaborated with Jon Levine, Salaam Remi and Joel Little among several other producers on the project. Deemed as a concept album based "In the meantime between life and death", the album unravels the anxieties of introspection, healing, love and self reflection.

Four songs were released to promote the album: "Sweet Dream", "Shapeshifter", "Best Days", and “You Let Me Down”, with "Sweet Dream" charting at number 51 on the *Billboard* Canadian Hot 100 chart while the latter two acted as promotional singles. *In the Meantime* follows Cara's EP *This Summer* (2019).

## Background and promotion

On July 2, Cara announced the release of the lead singles titled Sweet Dream and Shapeshifter, for her third studio album. Both songs were released on July 15, along with a music video for Sweet Dream. Alessia decided to release two songs since the recurring theme on the album is **duality**.

> "When I finally put the pen down on this album, I noticed the thread that runs throughout it is the theme of duality. So I decided to release two songs— one for each end of that thread."
>
>

On July 23, Cara released the music video for Shapeshifter, and teased the title of the album in the video. She also releasing episodes of a short series titled; *Shapeshifter Studios Presents: Get Them Back or Get Them Back* starting on August 16, and ending on September 9.

The album was announced on September 2, along with an album pre-order. Merch was revealed the next day. The track-list was revealed on September 13. Starting September 18 and ending September 23, Cara would release a snippet of each song on the album to build hype.

### Singles

* "Sweet Dream" was released as one of the two lead singles for the album on July 15, 2021, along with "Shapeshifter". The former of the two reached number 57 in Canada.

#### Promotional Singles

* "Best Days" was released as the first promotional single, alongside the album on September 24, 2021.

* “You Let Me Down“ was released as the second promotional single on 24 September, 2022 for the first anniversary of the album.

## Critical Reception

Professional ratings
 Source

*In the Meantime* received generally positive reviews from music critics upon its release. On the review aggregator site Metacritic, the album holds an average score of 80 out of 100, based on five reviews, indicating "generally favorable reviews". It is Cara's highest rated album on the site.

Writing for AllMusic, Andy Kellman noted that the album's tracks all have a "common" sound while opining that "from start to finish, lolling hooks flood Cara's mind as much as indecision, skepticism, and other negative thoughts ... enabling the listener to have a proper sulk that soothes." Nick Levine of *NME* wrote that the album proves "there's still plenty of creative gas in the tank" and opined that "I Miss You, Don’t Call Me" could be "the best song she has ever written," ending his review by stating "her best days definitely lie ahead." Dani Blum of *Pitchfork* appreciated Cara's voice and the album's themes, but felt that "she dilutes them when she relies too much on metaphor and conceit." Writing for *PopMatters*, Jeffrey Davies called the album "sonically and lyrically her best work yet," noting that no song "ever feels like filler" while pointing out "Best Days" as one of the standout tracks. Sarah Grant of *Rolling Stone* named the album a "mighty pop opera" that "walks us through the five stages of grief."

## References

1. ↑ https://twitter.com/alessiacara/status/1410939228687585281?s=21
2. ↑ https://twitter.com/alessiacara/status/1415499209730576386?s=21
3. ↑ https://youtu.be/YyDcXK\_SqJA
4. ↑ https://youtu.be/8uI\_6lGYGbg
5. ↑ https://youtu.be/m9x8VdrUmo8
6. ↑ https://twitter.com/alessiacara/status/1433550412406091777?s=21
7. ↑ https://twitter.com/alessiacara/status/1437433902352773123?s=21
8. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CT-Vu5rp8HQ/?utm\_medium=copy\_link
9. ↑ https://www.instagram.com/p/CULB-3SrtYR/?utm\_medium=copy\_link
10. ↑ https://www.metacritic.com/music/in-the-meantime/alessia-cara
11. ↑ https://www.allmusic.com/album/in-the-meantime-mw0003583891
12. ↑ https://www.nme.com/reviews/album/alessia-cara-in-the-meantime-review-3053259
13. ↑ https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/alessia-cara-in-the-meantime/
14. ↑ https://www.popmatters.com/alessia-cara-in-the-meantime
15. ↑ https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-album-reviews/alessia-cara-in-the-meantime-1231964/