Aesop Rock – “Trouble Mountain” review

Brand new studio LP & the 13th overall from New York emcee/producer Aesop Rock. Universally revered for his massive vocabulary, the man has put out a handful of underground hip hop essentials throughout the decades whether it be his solo catalogue or his membership of groups like Hail Mary Mallon or Malibu Ken. As far as his solo stuff: I recommend his sophomore effort & Definitive Jux Records debut Labor Day alongside The Impossible Kid, which was his 2nd under Rhymesayers Entertainment whom Aesop had made himself home with for over a decade at this point. Blockhead had fully produced Garbology to acclaim & Integrated Tech Solutions has quickly received the same love The Impossible Kid, coming off both Black Hole Superette & I Heard It’s a Mess There Too to reunite with Blockhead for Trouble Mountain.

“Swedish Death Cleaning” hooks up a bare piano loop talking about a decluttering method popularized nearly a decade earlier whereas the 2nd single “Coyote Summer” instrumentally leans towards a jazzier vibe he can discuss escape & memory in a abstractly conscious manner. “Church Key” experimentally talks about hooking up a homie who was checking for a threat to the broadcast leading into “Easter” advising not to come around since there isn’t anything for them.

Meanwhile on “Hound Selector”, we gave Aesop smoother talking about a finding a dog who he took in that reminds him of himself just before the experimental lead single “Trouble Trouble” after the “TM Tours” interlude goes for a jazzy boom bap direction for an abstract observation of labor. “Mom 1” talks about the potential his mother had of becoming the greatest graffiti writer of all-time simply because he believes he’s never seen finer handwriting in his entire life.

“1 Thing” featuring Open Mike Eagle references 2-time WWE Hall of Famer, former 16-time WWE world champion, WWE Intercontinental Champion, 6-time WWE United States Champion, 6-time WWE tag team champion & 9-time NWA World’s Heavyweight Champion Ric Flair and 8-time WCW World Tag Team Champion Ole Anderson while the 3rd & final single “Ants” moves the 2nd half of Trouble Mountain forward talking about everyone looking small when you survey the land from his position.

Continuing from there, “Oatmeal” describes him eating the same ground oats & playing word games every single morning while “No Interviews” makes a brutal critique of the media’s current state. “The Bag” expands the conscious side of things topically for a poignant exploration of the negative side effects that capitalism can bring while “Eat & Grow” featuring Cavalier & 4ize finds all 3 of them linking up to talk about building up our own strength.

“Ewok” winds down the last few moments of Trouble Mountain admitting he’s never at where he says he’s going due to him realizing this shit ain’t for him or savor the moment whenever he’s partway there while “High & Outside” talks about counting down from 10 to 1 whenever he rests his head on a husk whenever he gets tired & sets his belongings aside. “Buffering” wraps up the album advising it won’t matter who’s on course to count you out when light begins exploding from our eyes & mouths.

Exploring the themes of escapism through the lens of a fictional resort inspired by the Poconos getaway commercials that Aesop Rock & Blockhead grew up watching during their respective childhoods, Trouble Mountain reveals itself as a surreal psychological landscape where everyday anxieties twist into something stranger in attempt to convey the message of the places we flee to being equally disorienting as the lives we’re trying to leave behind instead of the reinvention initially promised.

Score: 4.5/5

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Blockhead – “The Aux” review

Manhattan producer/DJ Blockhead returning with his 12th full-length solo LP & only 2 years since his last one Space Werewolves Will Be the End of Us All. Notable for being 1/2 of the Party Fun Action Committee, he’s also built a solo career for himself putting out his first 5 albums through Ninja Tune. But when I heard he signed to Backwoodz Studioz for The Aux & called up guests for every song, it was enough to intrigue me to cover it.

“AAU Tournaments” by billy woods & Navy Bluefinds the 2 over some jazz rap production admitting time’s short yet they’ve never taken time off whereas “The Cella Dwellas Knew” by Quelle Chris talks about too many rappers existing in the land of the lost over a groovy, whistling instrumental. “Mississippi” by Aesop Rock hooks up these jazzy horn sections with kicks & snares building upon the concept of counting the name of the titular state just before “Mastering How to Land” by The Koreatown Oddity & Open Mike Eagle has this fuzzy revered rock guitar loop talking about a new daydream making money like Tone-Lōc in FernGully: The Last Rainforest.

Meanwhile, “Lighthouse” by UGLYFRANK weaves this eerie boom bap beat into the picture getting in his hardcore bag lyrically leading into “Hater Porn” by Breeze Brewin’ & Casual finds the 2 over a organ as well as kicks & snares to spit some battle bars. “Give Thanks” by Armand Hammer says it all conceptually over a sample-based boom bap instrumental, but then “Papi Seeds” by Bruiser Wolf brings this mystically occult vibe talking about how God took his time with this an unnamed adversary.

“God is Busy” by AKAI SOLO goes drumless with this guitar loop admitting that he’s eager to downsize his inventory even though that’s a whole different story of it’s own while “Ponzu Sauce” by Aesop & Breeze has this uncanny groove to the beat with it’s title originating from a line at the beginning of the Syosset wordsmith’s verse. “Sad Vampire” by Brian Ennals talks about puppies not turning into wolves or kittens turning into lions either over a boom bap instrumental with a high-pitched vocal sample while “Gargamel” by Defcee & ShrapKnel goes into cavernous turf referencing a 1-legged evil wizard.

The song “Pink Lemonade” by RXKNephew brings out his Mr. Been Ballin’ persona accompanied by a shimmery trap instrumental while the penultimate track “1970’s Post Apocalyptic Skin Flick by Creaturenomics & Fatboi Sharif ruggedly talks about the Glock being on fire returning to the boom bap. “Now That’s What I Call a Posse Cut Vol. 56.”, feat. billy woods, Bruiser Wolf, Danny Brown & Despot ends the album with the 4 underground’s emcees over a more psychedelic beat with the best verses going to both billy & Danny.

Last time we saw Blockhead do an producer album with a predominant amount of guests had to be Free Sweatpants at the beginning of 2019, so to hear him recapture that energy & refine it was a great listening experience & has to be my favorite solo album of his in recent memory. The guests’ performances are tight as they spit in their hardcore/abstract styles over his signature sound.

Score: 4/5

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Aesop Rock – “Garbology” review

This is the 9th full-length album from New York emcee/producer Aesop Rock. Universally revered for his massive vocabulary, the man has put out a handful of underground hip hop essentials throughout the decades whether it be his solo catalogue or his membership of groups like Hail Mary Mallon or Malibu Ken. Last we heard from him was Spirit World Field Guide & now with the 1-year anniversary of that coming up over the weekend, long-time collaborator Blockhead is being brought in to produce Garbology from start to finish.

After the “Only Picture” intro, the first song “Jazz Hands” is a cloudy kickoff to the album serving as a “love note to the fuck show” whereas “Wolf Piss” grimly talks about making motherfuckers disappear if they trip the wrong light. “Legerdemain” goes into a more funkier route saying he went home different leading into the tuba, boom bap infused “Difficult” finds him admittedly bugging.

Meanwhile on “All the Smartest People”, we have Aesop over a drumless instrumental telling listeners that the titular type he knows personally are paranoid just before the dusty “Oh Fudge” talks about metaphorically having no bones. “More Cycles” weaves in some synthesizers saying he doesn’t ever blink first, but then “Flamingo Pink” ominously calls out his idols as cons.

Lice reunites for the psychedelic “All Day Breakfast” reminding everyone of how well they mesh with each other whereas “Fizz” groovily talks about a dude being a lame. The song “That’s Not a Wizard” incorporates some pianos speaking on bare-witnessing the second first step while the penultimate track “The Sea” has a more scrubbier vibe talking about how it all falls below. “Abandoned Malls” closes out the album on a more dramatic note talking about the death of his close friend Kurt Hayashi.

Blockhead has produced some of the best songs of Aes’ career, so it was only a matter of time that they came together for an entire album & it’s exactly how I imagined it to be. The whole concept of examining material discarded by a society to see what it really means is well-thought out & as talented as he is behind the boards, it’s nice to see him take it back to basics.

Score: 4.5/5