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Aesop Rock

Aesop Rock | Integrated Tech Solutions | 3hive.com
Aesop Rock | Integrated Tech Solutions | 3hive.com

Ian Matthias Bavitz, more commonly known as Aesop Rock, is a NYC native and a pillar in the underground hip-hop scene. He’s been making music and doing it in a way that’s sustainable and submented in legend for the way he has done it. His projects have dabbled in chart success over the past 20+ years which is no small accomplishment. But don’t get it wrong, Aesop Rock is 100% underground legend, with very few joining him on the mountain top.

His most recent project, Integrated Tech Solutions, has received glowing praise which I will add to in a second. My man is crazy prolific, this double LP clocks in at over an hour, starting strong with a feature from Billy Woods on the track ‘Living Curfew’ (you can spin this below). This track is a perfect example of the source material and sounds that made 2023 a great year for the genre, with two of the best acts flowing and passing the mic seamlessly.

This album is full of examples where Aesop shows his range and willingness to learn from and mesh with others like Rob Sonic and Nikki Jean which shows his humility and curiosity even this far into his career – and the results are powerful.

However there are some minor flaws in this project. There are a couple cuts that are lyrically fierce but feel similar to others on the album, suggesting maybe a couple tracks could have been reduced into one. But that’s a small nit to pick on an album that’s stacked with tracks that get stronger with time.

Overall, Aesop channels his greatest strengths and creates an album with legs and that will be looked back on as a solid project in his discography.

Integrated Tech Solutions is out now via Rhymesayers. You can get it on vinyl from the 3hive Record Lounge, and stream it wherever you like listen to music.

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SNõõPER

Snooper | Super Snooper | 3hive.com
Snooper | Super Snooper | 3hive.com

Remember 2013? 10+ years ago, a Northwest Indiana band started something odd, catchy, edgy and wacky in a stick-it-to-the-man type of way. Egg Punk, ever heard of it?  If you have, you can thank Egg Punk legends The Coneheads for the birth of this odd subgenre of punk that features cheap synths, frantic drum machines, and sarcastic vocals. 

Years later we have a project called Snõõper out of Nashville that channels the original ideas and sounds of this movement, taking obvious inspiration from The Coneheads’ pacing and lyrical flow. Their 2023 debut album, Super Snõõper, is a fast-paced Egg Punk album that feels like ADHD personified in the best possible way. This album gives off a lot of Gen Z energy – hyper, energetic, cynical, and youthful. 

The track “Powerball” (below) gives an energy that makes you want to walk away from your workstation and start to dance in the break room. The whole album is a quick listen, clocking at 22 minutes and 58 seconds. That can feel like a lot when you’re in the second half of this album. The track “Music for Spies” wastes no time, and gives no time to relax. Moments like this can make it feel like the album is never going to end. But, by the time it’s over, I feel like I need more.

Overall this project is a positive for the genre. The sound makes me want to explore Egg Punk even more, which has me digging into Prison Affair or The Coneheads for their take on the oddball genre. Looking forward to future projects by these guys. 

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OSEES

OSEES | Intercepted Message | 3hive.com
OSEES | Intercepted Message | 3hive.com

With each new OSEES album there are always two questions: 1) Will they change the spelling of their name again? 2) What musical genre pairing will John Dwyer make you fall in love with this time? 

With Intercepted Message, they stick with the OSEES name as they have on their last three albums (they’ve gone through six name variations in the past 20 years). And this time, Dwyer cooks up his classic punk/garage sound and iconic vocal package and pairs it with keyboardist Tomas Dolas, aka Mr. Elevator Synth, to create sometimes subtle and other times chaotic experimental synth disco and new wave-inspired beats with weird, wacky, and sometimes uncalled-for lyrics. The resulting heavy, creative synth sounds make you want to tap your foot occasionally but also make you scratch your head when followed up with more mellow tracks that feel out of place. 

“Goon” and the title track give us a taste of the potential of this sound, only to be followed up by tracks like “Die Laughing” and “Chaus Heart” that have their own moments but stray away from the already established synth disco sound, making them feel out of place. Halfway through the album, Dwyer and Dolas start to explore and experiment with this new style by adding more layers. The track “The Fish Needs a Bike” gives you some of the most unique and odd content in this album by adding strong garage psych touches that makes you think acts like Ty Seagal, KGATLW and Frankie and the Witch Fingers. 

Each time I listen to this album I keep finding something new I like about it, whether it’s some of the best experimental synth tracks of the year or some unique experimental sounds that the band could easily capitalize on in future projects. On the opposite side, the experimental sounds sometimes veer into chaos with so many colliding sounds and layers of noise. My own personal experience with the fan base suggests this might be a positive for OSEES diehards. Overall, this project is a great example of an experimental album that will most likely be looked back on as a springboard for ideas and sounds that Dwyer and Dolas will evolve on in the future.  

Intercepted Message is out now via In The Red Records. You can also get it from the 3hive Record Lounge.

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billy woods & Kenny Segal

billy woods & Kenny Segal | Maps | 3hive.com
billy woods & Kenny Segal | Maps | 3hive.com

billy woods, half of Armand Hammer, dropped his 13th studio album, Maps. This is his second  album with producer Kenny Segal following their critically acclaimed 2019 album, Hiding Places. The duo keep building on their early 2010s underground, experimental hip-hop sound – giving vulnerable, eerie, and tense vibes throughout.

The sounds and emotions of Maps remind the listener of the self-reflection and wisdom you get while traveling. Maps leans into the honest – and sometimes frustrating – feeling of travel as well. woods and Segal brought in more featured artists this time around – including indie hip-hop heavies like Quelle Chris and Aesop Rock. And teamwork makes the dream work: the eighth track, “Year Zero,” has some of the hardest bars we have heard all year with Danny Brown bringing his heavy hitter sound of the underground hip-hop.

Maps is available now on vinyl and digitally via BackwoodzStudioz.