Amazon.co.uk Review
Listening to the
Daylight EP is like listening to the ambient noise of the city, amplified and thrown in your face like an unexpected assault from a passer-by. Aesop Rock's city is NYC and he knows every inch and every crack - "Nickel Plated Pockets" throws out rhymes so real you can almost smell the drains or hear the rustle of change as he swerves to avoid the "horns, jackhammers and brake whistles". The title track is one of the strongest from
Labor Days, Aesop Rock's critically acclaimed debut, but it's the new material here that impresses. Frantic and paranoid, "Bracket Basher" is full of disjointed down tempo beats and insomniac rhymes that dissolve into a slam poetry style delivery, while "Maintenance" with its sinister vocoder samples is crying out for a more danceable remix. "Alchemy" on the other hand has brooding piano samples and rhymes that come so thick and fast the layers of meaning need careful dissection. But one thing is clear, as Blueprint rants "I make a sad fan appreciate rap again," you won't help but agree. --
Caroline Butler