Shortly after Fast Cars, Danger, Fire, and Knives was released, I went to see Aesop Rock at St. Andrew’s Hall in Detroit. After the show ended, Aesop came down from the stage, mingled, and signed whatever piece of clothing his fanatic fans would shove in his face. I awkwardly bumbled my way over and asked him sign a sticker I had grabbed from the merch table. Aesop seemed larger than life after commanding the stage with an unexpected ease. He seemed like someone worthy of handing out his John Hancock for more than sentimental worth. But as time has progressed I’ve realized why Aesop was standing out in the crowd rather than fleeing to his oversized tour bus: he’s an average Joe.

A common criticism of Aesop is the off-the-wall lyrical spasms he compiles and disguises and songs. His writing process must go one of two ways: Find the closest madlib and fill it in (see the “Daylight”/“Nightlight” mirroring), or write countless rhyming, semi-similar terms and throw them together. All this had slipped past me until his latest release None Shall Pass, another disc of rapid-fire, nonsense rhymes and hookless tracks.

On tracks like “Bring Back Pluto,” the gimmick is readily apparent.  Every time Aesop uses a term like, “witch-hunt,” a slew of aesthetically pleasing phrases like “stigma” and “oddities” follow, adding little but sonic harmony rather than content. When he finally hits the next key word, he repeats the process until each track comes to an end. On the title track “None Shall Pass,” Aesop opens, “Flash that buttery gold, jittery zeitgeist/ Wither by the watering hole, water patrol/ What are we, a heart huckabee, art fuckery suddenly?/ Not enough young in his lung for the water wings?” … What?

When Aesop does break this mold (much like the criminally underrated “No Regrets” from his flagship Labor Days), it’s obvious that Aesop can truly be the storyteller he brags about. “The Harbor Is Yours” is a pirate’s tale of a misguided sailor who finds endless treasures that eventually lead to his horrible, agonizing death on the shores of a lost island. Strange story? Certainly, but he makes it work. Unfortunately, this Aesop incarnation goes into hiding shortly after “The Harbor Is Yours.” He even manages to turn one of the most prolific, contemporary storytellers John Darnielle (of The Mountain Goats fame) into a bumbling, campy crooner on the scatterbrained “Coffee.”

All’s not lost, though. The most encouraging part of None Shall Pass is the production. While his flows haven’t changed much since his debut, the beats he has to work with have been constantly depressing since Labor Days. The space-age loops and twittering bassline of “Fumes” surpass many of the mechanical soundscapes of Bazooka Tooth. The menacing horns and laid-back percussion on “Citronella” harp back to his work with Blueprint on the violently lazy “Alchemy.”

None Shall Pass fails exactly where many Aesop die-hards will find its successes: Aesop’s babbling rhymes. Those that fall on the sonics over content side of the hip hop debate will let this album wash over them like a warm shower, but those that are looking for more substance will pass over this album in exchange for something more filling. Still completely unable to write a hook, Aesop relies solely on his vocals but as his shtick is slowly uncovered, the crowd of fans surrounding him after shows will surely dwindle.

by Chris Gaerig

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