Bazooka Tooth

Bazooka Tooth is Brooklyn-based Aesop Rock’s fifth album, and his second long-player on doper-than-dope indie label, Def Jux. The beats are pure multi-layered phatness, fashioned as fans have come to expect from Def Jux -- frenetically aggressive, PE-recalling, neck-snap inducing, and all infused with a dangerous dose of space funk and computer game sickness. Aesop has an accomplished flow: a staccato, nasal delivery that resounds with forceful and cutting confidence. And in that odd moment of comprehensible clarity, you’ll find yourself being repeatedly impressed by his clever utterances. In fact, give the album some time and you’ll reap the harvest, as the verbal, melodic, and percussive elements unravel, the cloudy patina evaporating to reveal a richly rewarding luster.