Aesop Rock – Integrated Tech Solutions
welcome back folks! this week, we’re catching up to the most recent Aesop Rock record, 2023’s Integrated Tech Solutions –
Integrated Tech Solutions operates fairly similarly to Spirit World Field Guide – it opens with a spoken word intro that sets up the “theme” of the album, and then launches into a song that’s about the theme directly, and uses that as a lens to discuss other things throughout the rest of the record. Mindful Solutionism is a pretty strong “on-theme” opener, talking about the relentless pace of technology, but i feel like the rest of the record uses it less than FWSG did.
i was not super big on the collabs here – theyre pretty good listens but land kinda mid for me in the context of the record.
however, what i really like is how much of this record is storytelling – Pigeonometry is one of my favorites on the record for sure – a track about inspiration and the fickleness of starting or finishing projects and also about pigeons. really good. 100 Feet Tall is about running into Mr. T as a kid, Aggressive Steven is a story about a break in to his apartment, and On Failure is a more conversational song about his changing relationship to Van Gogh’s work and but also how we measure failure. i really enjoy all these songs – the beats are focused on amplifying the mood of the story, and Aes’s delivery is perfect for this kinda conversational storytelling track.
on the whole, pretty good, and keeps me pretty excited to see what he’ll put out in the future!
faves – Infinity Fill Goose Down, Pigeonometry, 100 Feet Tall, On Failure
dislikes –
Integrated Tech Solutions – 6/10
next week, im gonna catch up with the KGLW discography with their newest record, Flight b741 – in the meantime, please help me pick my next discography to review!
first: Music For Earthworms | previous: Garbology | next: who knows!
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