Aesop Rock - Labor Days

http://www.mediafire.com/?cr57j926zy960km

1. Labor
2. Daylight
3. Save Yourself
4. Flashflood
5. No Regrets
6. One Brick feat. Illogic
7. The Tugboat Complex Pt.3
8. Coma
9. Battery
10.Boombox
11. Bent Life feat. C-Rayz-Walz
12. The Yes And The Y'All
13. 9-5ers Anthem
14. Shovel

By the time Aesop released Labor Days in 2001 he was already a somewhat established artist in the Underground scene. His first LP (Music for Earthworms) and EP (Appleseed) were both self released and didn't make all that much impact, but soon Aesop was drafted to Indy label Mush and released his first commercially (Ha!) available album Float. The lp was a sleeper hit, and while it wasn't overly successful in its sales it was still enough to peak the interest of Legendary mc/producer and DefJux label owner EL-P. It wasn't long before Aesop was signed with the record label in what would turn out to be a match made in heaven. Aesop stayed with Jux right up the very end, spending the better part of 10 years with the label before it went under. In that time he managed to release 3 LPs and 2 EPs, and while all were considered critical darlings it was Labor Days that would come to be known as Aesop's Magnum Opus.

Perhaps the most immediately impressive thing about this album is the fact that it was released only one short year after Float. The amount of growth here, both sonically and as a lyricist is staggering. Labor Days takes the groundwork laid by Float and effortlessly builds and expands upon it. Everything here is bigger and better, yet tighter and more focused. Instead of a bloated 20 track project, Labor clocks in at a perfect 14 track; 61 minute running time. I suppose this could be attributed to the fact that the album itself plays out almost as a concept record, albeit a loose one. Instead of one driving storyline though Aesop focuses on an overall theme; The struggle that the average person deals with day in and day out, grinding away at a 9-to-5 that they're not happy with. While on paper it seems like a fairly mundane topic to be covered in an Underground LP, it's executed in such a way that it comes across absolutely dark and soul crushing. Aesop views the world through a very cynical lens and he pulls absolutely no punches here when expressing his displeasure for the rat race that keeps people from pursuing their true passions in life.

What may be most interesting though is the underlying positivity that Aesop manages to sneak into his bleak soundscapes. On first listen the album is a very dark and brooding affair, but on closer inspection little rays of sunlight begin to creep through the darkness. For example on "Battery"; what may be my favorite Aesop Rock song of all time we find Aesop declaring

"Yo change the fuckin channel. I burn a Coma candle
When the flame fades, consider my flatline a soldier's sample
We them cats talkin noise behind that New York trash heap
Where the stench of commuter briefcase replaces a bad sleep
And it's, worker zig-zagers versus piggy batch flashers
Training Generation Fallout
Waterfall bricklayer pincushion crawl out
There's smoke in my iris
But I painted a sunny day on the insides of my eyelids
So I'm ready now (What you ready for?)
I'm ready for life in this city
And my wings have grown almost enough to lift me
I'm a dinosaur with Jones Beach in my hourglass
Passing the time with serial killer coloringbooks and bags of marbles
Don't tell me you ain't the droid that held the match to the charcoals
Don't tell me Lucifer and God don't carpool (This is our school)
I'm not trying to graduate to life at the curse on the lounge barstool
Head in a jar on the desk, feet dangling in a shark pool"

That's half of the first verse, and in that short span of time Aesop manages to express almost ever range of emotion he has on the albums concepts at hand. But it's one line in-particular that's always going to stand out; "There's smoke in my iris/ but I painted a sunny day on the insides of my eyelids". It's an absolutely beautiful piece of imagery, and one that manages to show that it's not all hopelessness. We can wallow in self pity, or we can do everything in our power to make the best out of a bad situation. Positivity again plays a role on the absolutely stellar "No Regrets". The song is nothing short of a storytelling masterpiece, rivaling even the greatness of Slick Rick's vivid tales. In the song Aesop tells the story of a girl named Lucy (Probably not the same Lucy Slug of Atmosphere is so obsessed with, but a fun coincidence all the same) and how she lives her life on her own terms, doing only what she feels passionate about. Without giving too much away I will say that the song is constructed wonderfully, with Aesop painting Lucy's life in such detail you begin to wonder if she might perhaps be a real person, and the ending in true Aesop fashion is abrupt, shocking, funny and sad all at the same time. Being able to invoke all of those emotions at once is a stunning achievement.

Of course we can't very well write a review on Labor Days without mentioning the albums breakout track; "Daylight". The lighthearted, catchy song single handedly exposed Aesop to a group of music fans who otherwise would have never known he existed. The song stands as his most popular track to date, and in fact was so popular that it spawned its own ep (though he has gone on record as saying he hates the song). It's easy to see why people so readily attach to the song. The mellow Blockhead beat is a far cry from the dark material featured elsewhere on the album, and in a somewhat surprising twist for a lyricist as abstract and difficult as Aesop; it features a fairly catchy hook.

With an artist like Aesop you could literally spend years trying to break down, and explain his music. There's just so much substance, yet so much mystery here that trying to put it into words that can be readily understood by anyone is near impossible. He's an artist you really need to experience firsthand. For my money Labor Days is the absolute pinnacle of his career. Everything just came together here. The production provided by Blockhead and Aesop himself is near flawless. The songwriting is both focused, and sprawling, and Aesop himself is in absolute top form as a lyricist. Not everyone is going to love the album of course, and most likely the fault will be placed squarely on Aesop. His unique voice and flow are sure to rub some people the wrong way, and his lyrics often come across like they're being delivered in a different language. But I promise you that given enough time and effort Aesops brilliance will begin to reveal itself.

"I Told this cat the earth was flat/
He walked 'til his beard grew long enough to strangle himself for being stupid" (Flashflood)

Pros
-The production is some of the absolute best the Underground has to offer
-The concepts are well delivered
-Aesop is an absolutely masterful lyricist
-The songwriting is surprisingly strong

Cons
-Accessible is a word that you'll probably never hear when discussing Aesop. The album is dark, dense, and above all difficult.

Overall - 4.5/5