New Music Report – November 13, 2020
Well, this week was an interesting one. There are only a few albums really worth talking about this week, but this might still be my most diverse new music post from this year. Which is actually really cool cause everything I’m writing about here is absolutely top notch incredible. Every artist here is an absolute legend, and whether you’re familiar or not, worth a listen.
Aesop Rock – I may be mistaken, but I believe this is actually the first hip hop album that I’m writing about this year, and man is this a good one. Now, of course, everyone knows Aesop from being the guy that’s a monumental outlier on the hip hop vocabulary infographic that went around a few years ago, but he’s so much more than an extended volume dictionary. There’s something just so strange and wonderful about his writing style, his flow, and his delivery; and this album takes that to the next level by introducing an entire concept album dynamic – providing a guide for navigating the spirit world – making this album perhaps even more inaccessible than his others. But there is an obvious brilliance in that complexity and it’s hard not to be left in awe after hearing this album. There’s just so much to love about Aesop, from his prodigious vocabulary, to the way he crafts those words into absolutely brilliant, flowing stories, and perhaps most important, his ability to make you feel a bit of everything, from the deepest themes, to truly lighthearted songs about simple things like back pain and Alf references that leave you with a smile. This album runs the whole gamut, it’s got a bit of everything and is truly remarkable piece of music, marking yet another high point on a quarter century long career devoid of a single blemish.
Jesu – Earlier this year, Jesu released a very interesting EP that was sort of an experimental, almost glitch hop EP which is, admittedly, a huge departure from the drone/shoegaze/post metal that we’re used to from him. This full length, however, is back to the beautiful, yet bleak hopelessness that makes Jesu so captivating. So much so, in fact, that it’s almost jarring in its heavy, depressive atmosphere, droning on in a lo-fi static and glacial riffs with occasional, tastefully composed and incredibly emotive vocals. Overall, though, this album is a fairly sparse but absolutely beautifully cultivated wasteland; it’s never overwhelming, but what does mark the soundscape is incredibly deliberate and packs a lot of weight into its simplistic movements. I know none of this sounds terribly appealing, but trust me, this is an incredible album. It’s deeply moving, almost beautiful at times, as it stands cold, stark, and honest; contemplative in its vastness, begging you to fill the spaces in between as the music echoes on, seemingly infinitely into the despondent ether. If that’s the sort of crushing loneliness you want to hear and feel, then this album is absolutely perfect.
Katatonia – This is a live album, and like I said, I generally don’t really cover those, but if you’re looking for a very well done primer on Katatonia or are a long-time fan and want a very well done live album covering their entire career, then check this one out.