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This, Aesop Rock's 4-th album in three years is an exploration of the paradox that it takes the designation of a public holiday to get people to conceive and then labour for what they actually want instead of merely maintaining a state of spiritual subsistence... Well, that's but one possible interpretation of a project whose title alone is packed to bursting with possible meanings. A result of the unprecedented density of his lyrics is that Aesop Rock succeeds with ease to communicate more during any two of his cerebral cluster-bombs than someone like Jay-Z bothers to express during two albums. As dope as he is prolific Aesop Rock sees more than most and he's equipped to communicate it to the world. Still, whereas most emcees try to plot straight lines or trendy curves through their experiences, this silk worm trapped in the big apple describes himself "passing the time with serial killer colouring books and bags of marbles;" as he turns his mind inside out and tips it's muddled discontents on the counter. Indeed, the Gaelic sound of the Blockhead-produced DAYLIGHT places Ian Bavitz on a stool next to Norm, Cliff and Frasier as he proceeds to take the day, pick it apart and turn it into an imagistic scattergram. Lines like "don't tell me Lucifer and god don't car pool" illustrate the Blakian principle by which he dissolves unnecessary boundaries and dividers. Notions of them/us, past/future good/evil are all deemed equal as Aesop Rock juggles contraries, persons and tenses in his space rhyme continuum. Aesop always capitalises upon the fertile ambiguity as to whether statements are literal or metaphoric and so comic books, fairy tales, urban myths and a gallery of popular culture icons all coalesce to flesh out his internalised monologue. His effusive fusion of thought feeling and folk law Gives rise to adventurous conjunctions of potent imagery guaranteed to spark an unimpeded succession of effulgent starbursts across an open mindscape. Aesop Rock and an unusually mystical C-Rayz Walz may "breathe in the problems, exhale solutions" as they "study the disorders we've absorbed within the village" over the drowsy flute laden Blockhead instrumental for BENT LIFE. However, this project's chief concern is not with the urban environment per se but instead the precarious social standing of the individuals who inhabit it. Basically, Aesop's gone stir crazy and so his musings conjure a battalion of misfit personifications wielding figures of speech who mount metaphors and embark upon a wild goose chase in search of self-worth. Blockhead's 9-5ERS ANTHEM with it's bounding bassline and melancholic harmonica samples serves as the unofficial soundtrack to the lives of all those who pull every push door, always just miss the bus to work and yet who still think they're minimum wage is buying them closer to attaining the American dream. The project's recurrent message is encapsulated best during NO REGRETS, whose account of the life and work of an entirely self-actualised artist delivers the best narrative rap since Atmosphere's THE WOMAN WITH THE TATTOOED HANDS. The seductive moral of this enthralling work is that You can either squander your life on daydreams and keeping up with the jones or live your own life and make some actual headway in the pursuit of happiness. Whilst mostly spoken of in very broad terms, the lesson taught by Labor Days packs potent pertinence apropos the self-righteous fanaticism and puritanical partisanship retarding pop music. So, when it comes to all these self-appointed saviours and protectorates of the music, Aesop makes the serious suggestion "next time you want to be a hero try saving something other than hiphop!" Practising what they preach after having implored his peers to realise what you're holding aint really broken." Aesop and co successfully elucidate a pathway of elevation and escapism via exhilarating beats and dynamic lyrics. Furthermore, even when Ace Rock flips his already high paced flow into double time, This is arguably his most accessible work to date. Given the increased use of Omega scratching on the album and the inclusion of certain hiphop clichés (including: KRS soundbites, the "yes-yes y'all, and you don't stop.." mantra or Aesop Rock's parody of U-God's opening lines from DA MYSTERY OF CHESS BOXING) the development in both Aesop Rock's and Blockhead's production aesthetics display a growing interest with openly engaging the hiphop mainstream masses. For instance, Tracks including LABOR and DAYLIGHT stand as strong candidates for 'most banginest beats of 2001.' However, the best example of this successful application of immediacy with no loss in substance is provided by the glossy but still huge sound of SHOVEL. SHOVEL's orchestral thrusts and swoops invite comparison with the cream of producers - that's without the unfortunate side effect of having a Missy Eliot or a Lil Dap spoiling it.. In sharp contrast to the Instant gratification provided by the album's lead single, DJ Omega produced COMA, the album also features more demanding episodes of subdued Meditation. Unfortunately, the sense of continuity with FLOAT offered by tracks like FLASH FLOOD where the emcee is required to exercise full use of their stylistic gear box over gradually shifting soundscapes is to the detriment of LABOR DAYS' own momentum. That said, whilst they leave me puzzled as to the absence of at least one El-P production, understated incremental instrumentals are not the most conspicuous culprits of disappointing disruption. Whereas the mainstream moves so slowly that by comparison, his presence is as if "lost in statues of mainstream idols" Aesop Rock is an as yet unsurpassed emcee; rivalled only by Slug, Dose One, MF Doom and Sage Francis. This truth is smegging obvious to anyone who's ever heard anything that Aesop Rock has ever recorded. It's abundantly clear that "I can walk with a limp and make your step feel incomplete." - he shows and proves this with every other line he spits - he doesn't need to spell it out at every given opportunity. He certainly didn't need to make the TUGBOAT COMPLEX series of tracks a trilogy - especially with such an anti-climactic track. These gratuitous incidents of unequivocal self-aggrandisement at best come across like Aesop's gilding the lily just to show he can - but at worst, there is one occasion where he is hoist by his own petard. During the self-produced BATTERY, Aesop describes a homeless person playing a rusty trumpet on the street only to introduce a middle eight whose prominent feature is a sampled saxophone solo...huh? This albeit trivial glitch could so easily have been avoided and I believe Aesop works best as part of collaborative efforts. My belief is confirmed when his signature style of building upon and cultivating his own canon continues with the perfectly crafted appetiser for the Orphanage project which finds Weightless emcee Illogic helping to erect yet another Bulwark onto Aesop Rock's already impenetrable symbolist citadel. if I were to write another review of this same album every day for the next week, I could easily select different quotes, refer to different aspects of different tracks and each time come up with different views of this awesome project. However, regardless to how many different detours I could take, I'm sure I would always reach the same conclusion. LABOR DAYS is as good as hiphop gets in 2001 when you are your only competition. © Copyright 2001, CD Goldie for ukhh.com |
Aesop Rock Labor Days
LP