| Blessed with a deep booming voice that spells out conviction in edgy shards of glass-eyed lyrical shivers and thunderous allegorical rumblings, Aesop Rock's flow is vast and fluid, serious like granite, and rich with a bassy, brassy tone. His words are supported, elevated by a literate foundation, and delivered with a right-left-right jab-hook-uppercut style that involves a moderate amount of overdubbing to increase the desired effect. There's no bombast, no posturing, no misogyny, profanity doesn't appear for profanity's sake, and every song, every word seems offered with utmost respect to, and revelry in, the language. Most of the beats and, I assume - because no credits are given to players - the violin, contrabass, guitar, drums, etc., are either lifted from other recordings or of Aesop Rock's creation, with Blockhead having lent his backbeat abilities to several of the twenty tracks on Float. Aesop Rock is astoundingly bright, a crafty avant-poet who knows his way inside, outside and around a word or a phrase. Not being a fan of hip-hop, not in the least, I am pleased to report Aesop Rock never approaches the pitfalls of hip-hop, but instead exemplifies all that should be so right about the maligned genre. - Copper Press |
2XLP/Out Of Print