Tracklisting:

Tracklisting:

After finding an eager online audience for his dense soundscapes and even more complex rhymes, New York MC Aesop Rock released his most potent combination of words and music on his Def Jux debut. Crammed with references to history and mythology, as well as the usual pop-culture name checks, Aesop's lyrics remain unusually verbose and intelligent here, but he's also able to spin them into compelling stories. The best example is the bittersweet, follow-your-dreams saga of "No Regrets," which chronicles a woman's sacrifices for art from childhood to old age. Besides the wealth of detail, the song doesn't sugarcoat the loneliness of its subject, even as it shows her at ease with her choices. And on "9-5ers Anthem," Aesop -- who still works a day job himself -- allays any concerns about him being a hip-hop elitist, offering a shout out to the blue-collar masses. There are still instances where he gives his listeners simply too much information to process for a pop song ("The Tugboat Complex, Pt. 3"), but, overall, he does his best job yet at balancing smarts and accessibility. Of course, with such a focus on lyrics, it's easy to ignore the beats behind them -- but while the sampled backing is sometimes on the plain side, Labor Days contains some inventive bites from classical music, and more than a few tunes will grow on you, if given the chance.

Words to describe this work would be: surprising, analytical, darkness, mystery, lyricism, and jealous. Jealous because it's likely that every person who has ever tried to rap would wish he could rhyme like this guy, and every poet would wish to dream with such imagery. If you're into bootyshakin' and dancing, and that's the reason you listen to hip-hop, do not buy this album. But if you like hip-hop for rhymes that make you think, this guy just can't be slept on. For example, "6B Panorama" discusses the view from his NYC apartment and starts like this: "I was sitting on my fire escape and I saaaaaaw...Sturdy bridges, decorated with dirty pigeons, a vagabond beggin' for three pennies and a princess, a junky tourniquet surgeon urgin' the needle in, a batty senior citizen flashin' that awful teethless grin." Artists such as Aesop Rock paint intricate abstract pictures with their music, and it's simply too much information to handle in a single sitting. This album is so complex that it may never be fully comprehended by the listener, but you may find yourself walking along listening one day and finally figure out one of the metaphors -- a great feeling. This is one of a few albums definitely worth any import pricing. One more quote: "(I see) a challenge, a chance to add real colors to my favorite palette, raise my mighty mallet towards the gods and swing my talents!"