Aesop Rock – Labor Days
welcome back folks! today, in the next installment of our dive into Aesop Rock’s discography, we’ll be taking a look at Labor Days, released in 2001.
Labor Days definitely feels like a step up, both in terms of song structure/execution and as a whole album package. released on the Definitive Jux label, this record is Aesop Rock’s third full album but his big label debut, as everything before this has been self-distributed or through a smaller, indie label.
true to the title, this album is conceptually about work and working. some of those songs take that philosophically, dealing with Aesop Rock’s relationship to and motivations in honing his craft, like Daylight. other tracks, like the opener Labor or 9-5’ers Anthem, are about the broader relationship to wage labor. i particularly enjoyed no rEgrets, a track about a fictional artist who devotes her life to her work, happily.
musically, this album sticks closer to the mellower, slow, deliberate samples that Aesop is free to vary his delivery over. sometimes, like on Daylight or the third installment in the Tugboat Complex (itself a larger sequence a tracks about the weight of work and the feeling that one is a tugboat, pulling tons of weight relative to size), the track is measured and deliberate, but some tracks turn up the speed and finesse. i continue to be impressed by exactly how much and how varied Aesops verses are – a week to dive into these records really does not feel like enough time to dig into these songs, haha.
i will say though, as much as i appreciate the samples and beats here, not much of this blows me away musically. i mostly hook into lyrics that catch my ear and enjoy the vibes and get what i can out of the rest. and i will say, i think this is the best it’s felt so far.
faves – Labor, Daylight, no rEgrets, 9-5er’s Anthem
dislikes –
Labor Days – 8/10
next week, we’ll take at the follow EP named after one the singles from this record, Daylight.
first: Music For Earthworms | previous: Float | next: Daylight
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