''Spirit World Field Guide'' is the eighth studio album by American hip hop artist

Aesop Rock Ian Matthias Bavitz (born June 5, 1976), better known by his stage name Aesop Rock, is an American rapper and producer from Long Island, New York. He was at the forefront of the new wave of underground and alternative hip hop acts that emer ...

. It was released on November 13, 2020, through

Rhymesayers Entertainment Rhymesayers Entertainment (sometimes abbreviated RSE) is an American independent hip-hop record label based in Minneapolis. History Rhymesayers Entertainment was co-founded in 1995 by Sean Daley ( Slug), Anthony Davis ( Ant), Musab Saad ( Sab ...

. It acts as a "guide" to the Spirit World. The album was preceded by two singles: "The Gates" released on September 9, and "Pizza Alley" released on October 16, 2020. Both were released with music videos directed by Rob Shaw and featuring animation from Justin "Coro" Kaufman, who also designed the album's cover art. A third single and music video, "Coveralls", was released on November 13 alongside the album. The album was first teased following a series of cryptic

Instagram Instagram is a photo and video sharing social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. The app allows users to upload media that can be edited with filters and organized by hashtags and geographical tagging. Posts can ...

posts. Supporting its "survival guide" theme, the album was available on Rhymesayers Entertainment's official website as a preorder along with items such as a canteen, a

pocket knife A pocketknife is a knife with one or more blades that fold into the handle. They are also known as jackknives (jack-knife), folding knives, or may be referred to as a penknife, though a penknife may also be a specific kind of pocketknife. A typ ...

, and a flint kit being sold. The album peaked at number 54 on the ''Billboard'' 200.

Background and composition

''Spirit World Field Guide'' is a

concept album A concept album is an album whose tracks hold a larger purpose or meaning collectively than they do individually. This is typically achieved through a single central narrative or theme, which can be instrumental, compositional, or lyrical. So ...

following a narrator through an alternate world, including "hallucinatory images of killer eels, magic spells, and people on the run" and "anecdotes, recipes, survival tips, warnings, maps, nddrawings". Following his 2019 collaborative album '' Malibu Ken'' with electronic musician

Tobacco Tobacco is the common name of several plants in the genus '' Nicotiana'' of the family Solanaceae, and the general term for any product prepared from the cured leaves of these plants. More than 70 species of tobacco are known, but the ch ...

, Aesop took a break from touring and considered quitting music entirely. He traveled to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

with bassist James Lynch, which reinvigorated his passion to write songs. This trip produced "Pizza Alley", the first song written for the album. Crediting "the act of being somewhere else" as his source of inspiration, Aesop continued traveling and visited

Cambodia Cambodia (; also Kampuchea ; km, កម្ពុជា, UNGEGN: ), officially the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochinese Peninsula in Southeast Asia, spanning an area of , bordered by Thailan ...

and

Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...

, which served as inspiration for "Holy Waterfall" and "Sleeper Car", respectively. "Hello from the Spirit World", the spoken-word intro of the album, was the final song recorded, with Aesop originally considering it for a promotional announcement. Musically, the album's production includes a "mix of electric guitar, laser synths, and crisp drums", while taking inspiration from

boom bap Boom bap is a subgenre and music production style that was prominent in the East Coast during the golden age of hip hop from the late 1980s to the early 1990s. The term "boom bap" is an onomatopoeia that represents the sounds used for the b ...

, funk,

progressive rock Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. Init ...

, and

psychedelic rock Psychedelic rock is a rock music Music genre, genre that is inspired, influenced, or representative of psychedelia, psychedelic culture, which is centered on perception-altering hallucinogenic drugs. The music incorporated new electronic sound ...

Release and promotion

In September 2020, Aesop Rock released a music video for "The Gates" directed by Rob Shaw and starring Shaw's children. The video combined live-action footage with animation from Justin "Coro" Kaufman, who also designed the album's cover art. The video was accompanied by an announcement of the album's release date of November 13, 2020, title ''Spirit World Field Guide'', and 21-song track listing. Aesop considered the song "at least a little catchy", and credited it as a breakthrough moment for the project. The next month, he released a second music video for "Pizza Alley", also directed by Shaw and featuring animation from Kaufman. The album was released on November 13, 2020, alongside a third Shaw-directed music video for "Coveralls".

Reception

Critical response

In a positive review, ''

Pitchfork A pitchfork (also a hay fork) is an agricultural tool with a long handle and two to five tines used to lift and pitch or throw loose material, such as hay, straw, manure, or leaves. The term is also applied colloquially, but inaccurately, to ...

'' Stephen Kearse praised Aesop Rock's "vivid and imagistic" rapping and lyricism that "brims with wonder". Kearse considered the album's production "the best of esop'scareer" while specifically highlighting "Gauze" and "Crystal Sword", and considered ''Spirit World Field Guide'' to be "the most joyous album esop Rockhas ever made". Tom Breihan of ''

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'' referred to the album as "an exploration of one man's crippling dread" with "dense and layered" lyrics, praising the "warm and lush and genuinely funky" sound of Aesop's production. He concluded that ''Spirit World Field Guide'' "an album that sounds and works like nothing else", and later ranked it as the ninth-best rap album of 2020.

Commercial performance

''Spirit World Field Guide'' debuted on the ''Billboard'' 200 at number 54, his fourth-highest-charting album. Additionally, it placed on ''Billboard''

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' magazine that ranks contemporary R&B, R&B and hip hop music, hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. Th ...

and Independent Albums charts, among others.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits adapted from the album's liner notes. *

– producer , additional producer ,

executive producer Executive producer (EP) is one of the top positions in the making of a commercial entertainment product. Depending on the medium, the executive producer may be concerned with management accounting or associated with legal issues (like copyrights ...

* Heidi Hopfer – additional vocals * Grimace Federation – additional instrumentation * Hanni El Khatib – additional instrumentation , producer * James Lynch – bass * Homeboy Sandman – additional vocals * DJ Zone – scratches *

Leon Michels Leon Marcus Michels is an American music producer, record executive, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist best known as the leader of the eclectic soul project El Michels Affair and co-founder of Truth & Soul Records and Big Crown Records. He ...

– producer * Joey Raia – mixing *

Joe LaPorta Joseph J. LaPorta (born ) is an American mastering engineer at Sterling Sound in New Jersey.http://www.allmusic.com/artist/joe-laporta-mn000199340/credits/date-asc/ Career Born and raised in New York, LaPorta graduated from New York Univer ...

– mastering * Kevin Frias –

engineering Engineering is the use of scientific method, scientific principles to design and build machines, structures, and other items, including bridges, tunnels, roads, vehicles, and buildings. The discipline of engineering encompasses a broad rang ...

assistance * Justin "Coro" Kaufman – art, layout * Alex Everson – project coordinator * Jessica Daley – project coordinator * Kevin Beacham – project coordinator * Brent Sayers – executive producer * Sean Daley – executive producer

Charts

References

{{Authority control 2020 albums Aesop Rock albums Albums produced by Aesop Rock Hip hop albums by American artists Rhymesayers Entertainment albums