Aesop Rock’s sixth release, “Skelethon,” booms loudly in all its hodgepodge glory. Although five years was quite the wait, Ian Bavitz’s surreal and spellbinding lyrics make the wait well worth every last minute.
The album’s production was basically handled solely by Aesop, which makes “Skelethon” that much more admirable.
Kimya Dawson, one of Aesop’s protégées, makes an appearance on the cut “Crows 1” to add her own creepy tone.
Every vocal sample and instrumental loop brings something fresh to the record’s sound. Aesop’s songs, somewhat scattered but rewarding, require patience from the listener.
“Ruby ’81,” a song about a drowning girl saved by her beagle, fleshes out both the abstract and poignant qualities of Aesop’s music.
He raps the lines, “The splash would mum the rocket ships/Ruby’s lungs were filling,” detailing this nail-biting incident in rhyme. It’s the rapper’s idiosyncratic sound and perspective that define this as an Aesop Rock classic.
By Rachel Hanley
Aesop rocks
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