El-P's new album

[The Actual]

Anyone else a fan of his? I first got into him through the production work he did for other artists on Def Jux. About a year ago I picked up Fantastic Damage and was amazed.

I bought I'll Sleep When You're Dead yesterday but so far haven't really been able to get into it. It seems like a more toned down version of Fantastic Damage.

Is he losing his edge, do you think? I didn't think the production on Mr. Lif's most recent album, Mo' Mega was too amazing either.

 

[jjhatfield]

Quote:

Originally Posted by The Actual /img/forum/go_quote.gif Anyone else a fan of his? I first got into him through the production work he did for other artists on Def Jux. About a year ago I picked up Fantastic Damage and was amazed. I bought I'll Sleep When You're Dead yesterday but so far haven't really been able to get into it. It seems like a more toned down version of Fantastic Damage. Is he losing his edge, do you think? I didn't think the production on Mr. Lif's most recent album, Mo' Mega was too amazing either.

I haven't heard it yet, thanks for the reminder, I'll have to pick it up. The production on Fantastic Damage and The Cold Vein (can ox) is amazing and fresh.

 

[jjhatfield]

Keep listening. This is the review from allmusic, and I find they are spot on 99% of the time:

Taken from allmusic.com, http://www.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p...0:9pfxlfke5czr:

"With even commercial rap's fortunes on the decline during 2007 and Rjd2 going indie rock, the rap underground must have seemed like a lonely place to El-P. Perfect time for a community album featuring contributions from most of the Definitive Jux community as well as some expertly fitted outsiders (the Mars Volta, Nine Inch Nails, even Cat Power). As a producer, El-P's only gotten better since Fantastic Damage. If a Bomb Squad production made it sound like the Apocalypse was nigh, El-P's tracks come post-apocalypse -- no less heavy but dark, dusty, and brittle, marching numbly like an army of the popping and locking dead. I'll Sleep When You're Dead is definitely the best-produced and most powerful Definitive Jux record since Cannibal Ox's The Cold Vein -- which makes it the best in underground rap during that time. Meanwhile, El-P's improved as a rapper as well. Although what he's trying to say or mean exactly is often in doubt, he's better than any of his past CoFlow compatriots at matching the air of doom inherent in the sound ("I might have been born yesterday, sir/But I stayed up all night"). By the time Chan Marshall of Cat Power wraps up the record -- playing a sampled soul siren -- I'll Sleep When You're Dead is revealed as one of the most powerful hip-hop albums of 2007. While Public Enemy exposed the hypocrisy and greed of the '80s, El-P reflects his era just as well; the sense of stress is palpable, an "after the end of the world" feeling that's waiting anxiously for something else to be born."

I'm pumped now.

 

[24hoursinaday]

keep listening
I really liked this album the first time I listened to it
it doesn't ring too many connections with Fantastic Damage
cause it's a different creature completely
I do believe el-p's production has made some true advancements

 

[The Actual]

I am getting more into it, but I still am just not a fan of most of the choruses on the album. When he is actually rapping and it sounds kind of like Fantastic Damage though it is awesome.

It's cool that allmusic used that 'but I stayed up all night' quote. Definitely one of the best moments on the album.


Fantastic Damage took me a while to get into though, so of course I'll keep listening.



Do you think I'll Sleep When You're Dead is good enough to recommend to people not into El-P yet? For me I would still tell people to pick up Fantastic Damage first.

 

[candyman963]

After my first listen, I have to say that I like the beats better on FanDam but this seems like a more mature album. I feel like the message is clearer, the flow (both the cadence when rapping and the sequencing of the tracks) is better, and the production is more polished. For some strange reason, though, I just don't like El-P's production as much because of the polish...half the fun was the grunginess.

For people not yet into El-P, I'd recommend "Dear Sirs" or "Up All Night" from this album.