None Shall Pass

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Customer reviews

review by: mbajnr date: 2007-10-05 rating:
Aural Banquet
Aesop Rock is one hell of an impressive lyricist. Most reviews mention his impressive command of a metaphor. His lyrics are the closest to legitimate poetry of any hip hop artist i know of. Each and every one of his albums is incredible. If you know him, you'll buy this. If you don't know him, he's without doubt worth a listen.

I have one complaint. The production is outstanding, which kind of brings with it a problem- that I also encountered on Bazooka Tooth. Aesop's delivery can be a little difficult to decipher at times (particularly for non-Americans). When he was working with minimalist production his lyrics stood out. The production on this album is much more of the soundscape stuff you'd expect from Def Jux (who seem to save their best production for AR and El-P nowadays). It makes for a really interesting listen, it's outstanding. The problem is that at times with this album you just don't know what to listen to! I couldn't stay with either the lyrics or the production for any length of time. Like a massive banquet, the worry is that you end up full before you've really had a taste of everything. It's almost like you need to starve yourself of sounds beforehand and then give it one big effort to get the most out of it.

Still easily hits the 5* mark.

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review by: coflowdave date: 2007-09-08 rating:
An expected triumph
Aesop Rock is one of a select few artists to which the question that springs to mind when a new release is on the horizon is not "Will it be good?" but "Just how good will it be?". He has never disappointed before and does not start now. Like stablemate El-P it always takes a good few listens to really judge an Aesop Rock album and to make headway into the dense production and heavily metaphor-laden lyrics. More and more depths are realised with every listen and this is certainly no froth by any means.
One of the biggest surprises (and successes) is the inclusion of heavy and bluesy live guitars on many of the tracks including the brilliant police-baiting bonus cut.
The title track is one of THE hip-hop tracks of the year and is impossible to listen to without the onset of some serious head-nodding. There is a welcome return for longtime producer Blockhead who was absent from Aesop's last full-length; the (almost) entirely self-produced Bazooka Tooth. On that album that fact was hailed as a sign of maturity and realising his own vision. On this album he seems to have transcended that to invite his circle of friends 'back in'.
In short he can do no wrong and this album jumps into the top three hip-hop albums of the year so far below El-P's superlative 'I'll Sleep When You're Dead' and just above Cadence Weapon's leftfield stunner 'Breaking Kayfabe'. Enjoy!


review by: experiment with music date: 2007-08-30 rating:
Aesop Rock- None Shall Pass review
NYC's most under-rated rapper is back again with the 63 minute, 14 track, `None Shall Pass', the follow up to 2005's `Fast Cars Danger Fire and Knives' EP. Ever since Aesop's 1997 self-released `Music For Earthworms' album, his unique lyrical talent has been evident. Production and arrangement skills have also steadily been improving resulting in some wonderful beats in `Bazooka Tooth' and `Fast Car..' albums.


`None Shall Pass' is Aesop's 5th album proper and production duties are shared by Aesop (5trks), Blockhead (7trks), EL-P (1trk) and Rob Sonic (1trk). Immediately, one can rest comfortably in the knowledge that Aesop has not toned down his ridiculously intricate and impenetrable rapping style for a shot at the mainstream. Lyrics are spit out at a disgustingly brisk momentum which will provide hardcore fans with months and months worth of deciphering. Luckily though for more casual fans, the lyrics ride the beats beautifully with certain words stretched and syllables accentuated. The odd bars that do penetrate the high tempo verbage usually provide knowledgeable and authoritative repartee which motivates the listener to dig deeper and `connect the dots'.

The arrangements and production values on `None Shall Pass' provides an excellent backdrop to the perfectly delivered lyrics. The beats are crisp, multi-dimensional and provide a slightly off-kilter, paranoid energy that perfectly complements the lyrics. When describing the beats, the word `freshness' comes to the forefront of ones mind. A myriad of styles are implemented from neo-funk to blues to psychadelica. There is a notable use of live instrumentation which may rub some the wrong way, but the deep dark dense production values coupled with the looseness of the live instrumentation works a treat. Tracks like '39 Thieves' provide an ethnically rooted melody drenched in twinkly neon electronica and underpinned by pounding corpulent beats. The move to San Fran doesn't seem to have affected the dark-twitchyness of his output. The self-produced `Citronella' is a prime example, the track being underpinned with an ominous and cavernous bass and beat exercise whilst the lyrics are delivered in a deep overbearing voice. `Five Fingers' is a perfect example of Aesop in cruise control. A driving and subtley catchy trip-hop melody augmented by beefy hiphop beats, electronic guitar and soul samples which is rode expertly by Aesop who switches tempo with precision in order to insert energy and time to reflect. It is obvious that Aesop still has passion for what he raps and this forthrightness and vigour really makes for an enjoyable listener experience.


This is the strongest hip-hop release of 2007 since EL-P's highly consistent `I'll Sleep When You're Dead'. It's a dense and mystical beast which requires multiple spins during which time you're favourite track will constantly change. If you've shown any interest in Aesop's previous releases or in the releases of innovative hip-hop labels like Def Jux or Babygrande then this is worth you're while. Kanye vs 50 Cent, please, I know what I'll be bumping to. (AM)


For fans of: EL-P, Cage, Chief Kamachi, Atmosphere

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