Benjamin Todd

Artist: Aesop Rock

Album: Black Hole Superette

Release: 2024-05-30

Duration: 1 hour, 8 minutes

Standout tracks: Secret Knock; Movie Night; John Something; Steel Wool

The prolific age of Aesop has been good to his fans. Four albums since 2020? I honestly couldn’t ask for more. I barely have the time to finish digesting what he’s put on the page before the next album starts knocking at the door with pre-release singles out ahead of the impact of the release. Sure, he doesn’t seem to have any appetite to tour anymore, but I won’t argue with another album with a dim hope he’ll show up on a stage near me.

His latest release, Black Hole Superette, will be no different. Here we are, eleven albums in, and the density of his rhymes remains unchanged. I have already had to look up a few words here and there (did you know what a Visigoth was) to ensure I could have a go at understanding what he was rapping around. Ahead of the release, only two tracks were released: “Checkers” and “Send Help”. Both found their way into my regular rotation but felt lost without the context of the album. Now, with the rest of the album out, they’re right at home with 16 other tracks that give them as much context as Aes will let them have.

Since waking up to the release waiting for me on my iPhone, I have listened to it front to back easily eight or nine times by now. How does one take apart an Aesop Rock album for the purpose of trying to sum it up? It honestly seems like a fool’s errand. The relationship between the tracks and depth of each betrays my ability to really disassemble it, especially within a day of release. But I feel like acting the part of a fool from time to time.

Aes opens up the album with “Secret Knock” with a hurried sounding synth loop that feels as familiar as it does urgent. He starts the track with the lyrics, “I don’t go on nobody signal, I don’t signal, I just go” which sets the tone for the rest of the album. The song continues on through a forest of familiarly dense raps for Aes, both in lyricism and diction. I find myself happily flipping through the lyrics as my brain struggles to catch what he’s just said as my ears are listening to the next burst of words. He paints a clear and confusing picture with lines like, “Hooded figure, sniffing markers, chewing ginger, missing marbles / Cookie monsters with conflicting dharmas / I’m moving contra to existing markets, in the mood to conquer”.

By the time “Secret Knock” closes, I was already feeling lost in the album. Then I was fittingly welcomed by “Checker” intro, “You’re a prisoner here now”. And I’m a willing prisoner in the Black Hole Superette, ready for the ride that Aes has in store.

The next track up, “Movie Night”, enters a more playful area of Aesop’s library and is probably my favourite track on the album. The production on the song sounds pretty unique for Aes with a pumping marching percussion moving the song forward and leaving a path for his words to follow. Paired with the drums is another layer I could only describe as sounding like a vintage gameshow ditty, presenting itself as a hype man for Aes to jump from into his rhymes. The chorus really tickled me with Aes getting asked, “What kind of dog is that?” and replying in a way I find myself telling people who ask about our pup: That’s a mutt / It’s five dogs in one / Mmm, that’s a good boy. Of all the tracks on the album, this is probably the one that will stick with me the most on repeated listenings. It is just too fun.

Right around now, I am wondering to myself if I am going to write up a little something about all 18 tracks. Nah - not in the cards for me. There is a lot here that I will want to return to over and over to absorb in the coming year before the next album hopefully materializes.

There are a few more tracks that really jump out to me on the album. “John Something” recounts a memory of a guest speaker at Aesop’s university in 1996 who, instead of talking to the kids about his art, elects to recount a documentary he watched the evening before. Aes leaves the assembly, runs down the documentary, and consumes it eagerly based on the recommendation of his now favourite artist “John Something”. We have all had the “John Something” people in our life – someone who has delivered something with passion that has just stuck to the soul. But memory may betray what you are left with. Who was it that introduced me to the thing that reshaped my understanding? Maybe it doesn’t matter. We are all getting older.

In a similar vein “Snail Zero” is a narrative about Aes finding a bladder snailthat hitched a ride on a plant added to the aquarium he has gifted to girlfriend who recently moved in with him. Over the course of the song, Aes wrestles with what the right decision is to handle the multiplying snails. Does he let them just keep multiplying until they overrun the apartment or does he clean the aquarium and face judgement. Tracks like this and “John Something” are what I truly treasure about Aesop Rock. I don’t know who else would rap about the same subjects. There is something honest and absurd about his lyrics that reflects the truth about life.

I will have this album on repeat along with most of the rest from his collection. From my initial listens, I think it will sit up there with my favourites from him. And I will quietly stew with the album on repeat hoping that Aes will come out of hiding to tour the album. But I won’t be holding my breath.

Track list:

1. Secret Knock
2. Checkers
3. Movie Night
4. EWR - Terminal A, Gate
5. 1010WINS
6. So Be It
7. Send Help
8. John Something
9. Ice Sold Here
10. Costco
11. Bird School
12. Snail Zero
13. Charlie Horse
14. Steel Wool
15. Black Plums
16. The Red Phone
17. Himalayan Yak Chew
18. Unbelievable Shenanigans

Artist: BABYMONSTER

Album: DRIP

Release: 2024-11-01

Duration: 27:49

Standout tracks: CLIK CLAK; DRIP; BILLIONAIRE; Woke Up In Tokyo

In an attempt to get outside of my musical comfort zone, and in a continued goal of listening to a new album every day for the past few years, I have stumbled into the complicated and indulgent world of K-pop. My first introductions was through League of Legends and the virtual/fictional group K/DA. From there, I learned about (G)I-dle, which led me to global superstars Blackpink, and stumbled on through another dozen or two groups that I sample from with less frequency. I always come back to my earliest loves but keep an interested set of eyes and ears open to new experiences.

The latest indulgence? BABYMONSTER’s first full album, DRIP.

The album starts off with a strong rap-focused track called “CLIK CLAK, which is probably my favourite on the album. It’s a fairly bare hip-hop production and sets a tone for the group. They are clearly about themselves, thick with attitude. Proud. The music video is shot in black and white, which seems overly appropriate for the production and style of the song. This song hooked me into the album by effectively being a supersized portion of my favourite thing about Blankpink and (G)I-dle: fun rap served up with a lot of feistiness and confidence.

From there, the album shifts into very familiar K-pop territory with the song “DRIP, which is bustling with more complex production. Both the song and the music video are so much more bombastic compared to the video for “CLIK CLAK” linked above. Easily a quick ear worm, it stuck out as a favourite track for me.

The rest of the album feels more and more like familiar territory for any seasoned K-pop fan. That’s not to say the album isn’t fun and well done. It just starts to sound less and less unique, at least to my ears. The track “BILLIONAIRE” still managed to catch my attention, especially with catchy raps dribbled between vocal features. The weakest parts of the album to me are the pure K-pop songs, which leave me wishing the album featured more rapping and hip-hop influences. I appreciate I may well be alone in this thinking but what originally hooked me on the K-pop train was Soyeon’s raps as Akali. The vocals fade further into the background in terms of my priority.

And to that end, the album returns to form with my last standout track “Woke Up In Tokyo” with Ruka and Asa as the only members appearing on the song. If Ruka and Asa broke off the band and put out a duo album (Has this ever been done before?) I would not be heartbroken. Their live performance apparently opens with Asa performing a portion of “Godzilla” by Eminem, which I would love to see live. And maybe I will when they come by Toronto in late August.

Overall, I enjoyed the album. It’ll go on repeat from time to time, just like offerings from Blackpink and (G)I-dle. But if I’m honest, I’m more excited to see where this group goes in the future. This album feels like a strong start and honestly seems like fantastic groundwork for the group. I will just secretly hope that there is a very strong focus on the rap from Ruka and Asa.

Track list:

1. CLIK CLAK
2. DRIP
3. Love, Maybe
4. Really Like You
5. BILLIONAIRE
6. Love In My Heart
7. Woke Up In Tokyo
8. FOREVER
9. BATTER UP (Remix)

Reviewed on an iPad using a FiiO KA13 with Sennheiser IE 200 IEMs. Digital source from Apple Music.