Honestly, just look at that cover art. Really take it in. It's so beautiful. I could stare at it all day. Back in the ancient days when we would sometimes flip through used-CD tracks and buy albums based on cover art alone, that one would've stopped me in my tracks. I would've run to the counter and laid my money down, no questions asked. Just based on that cover art and the shared track record of the two people who made it, Aesop Rock and Blockhead's upcoming LP Trouble Mountain has unbelievably high potential. I expect great things.
Verbal iconoclast Aesop Rock and production auteur Blockhead have both been indie rap staples for decades, and their deep legacies are completely intertwined with one another. They've been friends since they were at Boston University together in the '90s, and they've been working together ever since Aesop's self-released 1997 debut Music For Earthworms. Together, they've made classics like 2001's "Daylight." In 2021, Aesop and Blockhead released the excellent Garbology, their first-ever fully collaborative album. With Trouble Mountain, they're doing it again.
These days, Aesop Rock and Blockhead remain as busy as ever. Earlier this year, Aesop Rock released Miami Lice: Season Four, the latest installment in his series of extremely fun EPs with Homeboy Sandman, and Blockhead teamed up with ascendant Baltimore rapper Brian Ennals for the excellent collaborative LP Boatshoes. Trouble Mountain is loosely based around the concept of the commercials for Poconos getaways that Aesop and Blockhead used to see as kids in New York, and it's got appearances from Open Mike Eagle, Hanni El Khatib, Cavalier, Baby Dayliner, and 4-IZE. I assume that's the same 4-IZE who used to be part of Ludacris' Disturbing Tha Peace crew in the early days. I always liked that guy, and I can't wait to hear him on a song with Aesop Rock and Cavalier. Here's what Aesop says about the album:
Growing up in NY, we were bombarded with TV ads tempting us to visit the Poconos. I do not ski, but I did have relatives who lived in the Poconos area, and I spent many weekends there as a kid — though, of course, not in a sick party lodge. Trouble Mountain is me and Blockhead’s (fake) Ski Lodge where you might meet your future spouse or you might have to fight some local ski gangs (which I assume is a thing). Anything can happen. (It’s a metaphor for life, y’all!)
Lead single "Trouble Trouble" is a playfully funky description of this fictional resort, and it's got a fittingly surreal animated video from Justin “Coro” Kaufman. Check it out below.
TRACKLIST:
01 "Swedish Death Cleaning"
02 "Coyote Summer" (feat. Hanni El Khatib)
03 "Church Key"
04 "Easter"
05 "Hound Selector"
06 "TM Tours" (feat. Baby Dayliner)
07 "Trouble Trouble"
08 "Mom One"
09 "One Thing" (feat. Open Mike Eagle)
10 "Ants"
11 "Oatmeal"
12 "No Interviews"
13 "The Bag"
14 "Eat And Grow" (feat. Cavalier & 4-IZE)
15 "Ewok"
16 "High And Outside"
17 "Buffering"
Trouble Mountain is out 11/13 on Rhymesayers. Pre-order it here.
