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None Shall Pass [Digipak]

Aesop Rock
1 disc

1. Keep Off the Lawn
2. None Shall Pass
3. Catacomb Kids
4. Bring Back Pluto
5. Fumes
6. Getaway Car
7. 39 Thieves
8. Harbor Is Yours, The
9. Citronella
10. Gun For the Whole Family
11. Five Fingers
12. No City
13. Dark Heart News
14. Coffee
Read More...
Additional Info

Manufacturer Part Number (MPN): DJX-144
Credits

Producer Rob Sonic; El-P; Aesop Rock; Blockhead
Engineer
Personnel: Hollis, Camu Tao (vocals); Allyson Baker (guitar); Derek Layes, Carson Binks (bass guitar); DJ Big Wiz (scratches).
Additional personnel: El-P, Rob Sonic (vocals); Breezly Brewin, John Darnielle, Cage .
San Francisco MC Aesop Rock has long been the acknowledged king of hipster-hop, bringing to the game a cerebral, often ironic lyrical sensibility and a taste for adventurous production. Long Island-born AR (born Ian Bavitz) has a lifetime of personal issues and sociopolitical preoccupations banging around in his brain, and he continues to air them on NONE SHALL PASS, his fifth full-length release. Aesop's knack for getting polysyllabic while maintaining an organic flow is in full effect here: how many other rappers can make "Helvetica" and "euthanasia" fall trippingly off the tongue? Backing it all up with tracks that mix '70s funk, IDM-style electronica, left-field psychedelia, and classic West Coast beats, Aesop Rock (with guest shots from pals El-P and the Mountain Goats' John Darnielle) proves that there are still fresh approaches available to rappers with a searching spirit.
Critic Reviews

Rolling Stone (p.93) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Indie rap's wordiest wordsmith unleashes another dose of dense, hyper-enunciated rhymes filled with poetic imagery."
Spin (p.122) - 3.5 stars out of 5 -- "[A] challenging, rewarding head trip. 'Fumes' and '39 Thieves' are classic Def Jux..."
Entertainment Weekly (p.65) - "His dazzling verbal pointillism resolves into clever rants and full-blown stories." -- Grade: A-
Q (p.101) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "Long Island-born Ian Bavitz here delivers some typically extravagant wordplay. There's smart production, too..."
Alternative Press (p.170) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "On NONE SHALL PASS, the entry point is classic hip-hop....It peaks on 'Coffee,' a wonderfully weird, ska-tinged duet..."
The Wire (p.65) - "[With] free associative existential riffs, surreal suburban imagery and winding accounts of decay....NONE SHALL PASS might be his best work since LABOR DAYS."
Vibe (p.130) - "[H]is fourth album is as dense as ever....His paragraphs are still wound tight with near metaphors and dissociative imagery..."