Spirit World Field Guide is the eighth studio album by American hip hop artist Aesop Rock. It was released on November 13, 2020, through Rhymesayers Entertainment. 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 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, and a flint kit being sold.[1][2][3] The album peaked at number 54 on the Billboard 200.
"I don't necessarily view it as something you need to listen to front to back in one sitting. In an actual field guide, you'd kinda flip around until you find the section that applies to your current situation. That's how this feels to me."
Spirit World Field Guide is a concept album 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, [and] drawings".[5]
Following his 2019 collaborative album Malibu Ken with electronic musician Tobacco, Aesop took a break from touring and considered quitting music entirely. He traveled to Peru with bassist James Lynch, which reinvigorated his passion to write songs.[6] This trip produced "Pizza Alley", the first song written for the album.[4] Crediting "the act of being somewhere else" as his source of inspiration, Aesop continued traveling and visited Cambodia and Thailand,[6] which served as inspiration for "Holy Waterfall" and "Sleeper Car", respectively.[4] "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.[4]
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.[9] 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.[5] Aesop considered the song "at least a little catchy", and credited it as a breakthrough moment for the project.[6] The next month, he released a second music video for "Pizza Alley", also directed by Shaw and featuring animation from Kaufman.[10] The album was released on November 13, 2020,[11] alongside a third Shaw-directed music video for "Coveralls".[12]
In a positive review, Pitchfork's 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 [Aesop's] career" while specifically highlighting "Gauze" and "Crystal Sword", and considered Spirit World Field Guide to be "the most joyous album [Aesop Rock] has ever made".[7] Tom Breihan of Stereogum 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",[13] and later ranked it as the ninth-best rap album of 2020.[14]
^"AESOP ROCK "SWFG" FLINT KIT". from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^"AESOP ROCK "SWFG" CANTEEN [PRE-ORDER]". from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^"AESOP ROCK X JAMES BRAND "SWFG" KNIFE". from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved November 14, 2020.
^ abcdLeSuer, Mike (November 13, 2020). "Aesop Rock Guides Us Through the "Spirit World" of His New Record". Flood Magazine. Anthemic Agency. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
^ abBloom, Madison (September 9, 2020). "Aesop Rock Announces New Album, Shares Video for New Song". Pitchfork. Condé Nast. from the original on September 10, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^ abc"'What I Do Is What I Do:' Aesop Rock and Coro in Conversation". Spin. Next Management Partners. November 23, 2020. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
^ abcdKearse, Stephen (November 14, 2020). "Aesop Rock: Spirit World Field Guide". Pitchfork. from the original on November 14, 2020. Retrieved November 15, 2020.
^ abSimpson, Paul. "Spirit World Field Guide - Aesop Rock". AllMusic. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
^DeVille, Chris (September 9, 2020). "Aesop Rock Announces 'Spirit World Field Guide': Hear "The Gates"". Stereogum. from the original on October 1, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^"Aesop Rock Drops Video for 'Pizza Alley'". Spin. October 16, 2020. from the original on October 19, 2020. Retrieved November 2, 2020.
^Yoo, Noah; Bloom, Madison (November 13, 2020). "8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now: Amaarae, Ana Roxanne, Davido, and More". Pitchfork. from the original on November 15, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
^"Aesop Rock Enters the Subconscious in 'Coveralls'". HipHopDX. November 13, 2020. from the original on November 19, 2020. Retrieved November 16, 2020.
^Breihan, Tom (November 18, 2020). "Aesop Rock's New Album Is A Dizzy Vision Quest". Stereogum. from the original on November 18, 2020. Retrieved November 18, 2020.
^Breihan, Tom (December 7, 2020). "Best Rap Albums 2020". Stereogum. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
^Zidel, Alex (November 23, 2020). "Future & Lil Uzi Vert Miss Out On #1 Debut: Sales Report". HotNewHipHop. Urbanlinx Media. Retrieved December 7, 2020.
^ ab"Aesop Rock Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
^ ab"Aesop Rock Chart History (Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 24, 2020.
^ ab"Aesop Rock Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
^ ab"Aesop Rock Chart History (Top Tastemaker Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved November 30, 2020.
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Spirit World Field Guide is the eighth studio album by American hip hop artist Aesop Rock It was released on November 13 2020 through Rhymesayers Entertainment 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 Spirit World Field GuideStudio album by Aesop RockReleasedNovember 13 2020 2020 11 13 GenreHip hopLength63 18LabelRhymesayersProducerAesop Rock Hanni El Khatib Leon MichelsAesop Rock chronologyFreedom Finger Music from the Game 2019 Spirit World Field Guide 2020 Garbology 2021 Singles from Spirit World Field Guide The Gates Released September 9 2020 Pizza Alley Released October 16 2020 Coveralls Released November 13 2020The album was first teased following a series of cryptic Instagram 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 and a flint kit being sold 1 2 3 The album peaked at number 54 on the Billboard 200 Contents 1 Background and composition 2 Release and promotion 3 Reception 3 1 Critical response 3 2 Commercial performance 4 Track listing 5 Personnel 6 Charts 7 ReferencesBackground and composition Edit I don t necessarily view it as something you need to listen to front to back in one sitting In an actual field guide you d kinda flip around until you find the section that applies to your current situation That s how this feels to me Aesop Rock Flood Magazine 4 Spirit World Field Guide is a concept album 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 and drawings 5 Following his 2019 collaborative album Malibu Ken with electronic musician Tobacco Aesop took a break from touring and considered quitting music entirely He traveled to Peru with bassist James Lynch which reinvigorated his passion to write songs 6 This trip produced Pizza Alley the first song written for the album 4 Crediting the act of being somewhere else as his source of inspiration Aesop continued traveling and visited Cambodia and Thailand 6 which served as inspiration for Holy Waterfall and Sleeper Car respectively 4 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 4 Musically the album s production includes a mix of electric guitar laser synths and crisp drums 7 while taking inspiration from boom bap funk progressive rock and psychedelic rock 7 8 Release and promotion EditIn 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 9 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 5 Aesop considered the song at least a little catchy and credited it as a breakthrough moment for the project 6 The next month he released a second music video for Pizza Alley also directed by Shaw and featuring animation from Kaufman 10 The album was released on November 13 2020 11 alongside a third Shaw directed music video for Coveralls 12 Reception EditCritical response Edit Professional ratingsReview scoresSourceRatingAllMusic 8 Pitchfork8 0 10 7 In a positive review Pitchfork s 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 Aesop s career while specifically highlighting Gauze and Crystal Sword and considered Spirit World Field Guide to be the most joyous album Aesop Rock has ever made 7 Tom Breihan of Stereogum 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 13 and later ranked it as the ninth best rap album of 2020 14 Commercial performance Edit Spirit World Field Guide debuted on the Billboard 200 at number 54 15 his fourth highest charting album 16 Additionally it placed on Billboard s Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums and Independent Albums charts among others 17 18 19 Track listing EditAll tracks are written by Ian Bavitz Spirit World Field Guide track listingNo TitleLength1 Hello from the Spirit World 2 062 The Gates 3 513 Button Masher 3 454 Dog at the Door 1 285 Gauze 3 126 Pizza Alley 4 367 Crystal Sword 2 208 Boot Soup 4 089 Coveralls 3 3910 Jumping Coffin 3 2911 Holy Waterfall 3 4812 Flies 0 4613 Salt 3 3714 Sleeper Car 3 4215 1 to 10 0 5316 Attaboy 3 0017 Kodokushi 3 5318 Fixed and Dilated 2 3819 Side Quest 1 2120 Marble Cake 4 1621 The Four Winds 2 50Total length 63 18Personnel EditCredits adapted from the album s liner notes 20 Aesop Rock producer 1 13 15 21 additional producer 14 executive producer Heidi Hopfer additional vocals 1 Grimace Federation additional instrumentation 2 6 8 9 16 17 21 Hanni El Khatib additional instrumentation 3 producer 14 James Lynch bass 5 6 13 20 Homeboy Sandman additional vocals 8 DJ Zone scratches 10 13 17 18 Leon Michels producer 14 Joey Raia mixing Joe LaPorta mastering Kevin Frias engineering 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 producerCharts EditChart performance for Spirit World Field Guide Chart 2020 PeakpositionUS Billboard 200 16 54US Independent Albums Billboard 18 9US Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard 17 26US Top Tastemaker Albums Billboard 19 5References Edit AESOP ROCK SWFG FLINT KIT Archived from the original on November 14 2020 Retrieved November 14 2020 AESOP ROCK SWFG CANTEEN PRE ORDER Archived from the original on November 16 2020 Retrieved November 14 2020 AESOP ROCK X JAMES BRAND SWFG KNIFE Archived from the original on November 16 2020 Retrieved November 14 2020 a b c d LeSuer Mike November 13 2020 Aesop Rock Guides Us Through the Spirit World of His New Record Flood Magazine Anthemic Agency Retrieved December 7 2020 a b Bloom Madison September 9 2020 Aesop Rock Announces New Album Shares Video for New Song Pitchfork Conde Nast Archived from the original on September 10 2020 Retrieved November 2 2020 a b c What I Do Is What I Do Aesop Rock and Coro in Conversation Spin Next Management Partners November 23 2020 Retrieved December 7 2020 a b c d Kearse Stephen November 14 2020 Aesop Rock Spirit World Field Guide Pitchfork Archived from the original on November 14 2020 Retrieved November 15 2020 a b Simpson Paul Spirit World Field Guide Aesop Rock AllMusic Retrieved November 30 2020 DeVille Chris September 9 2020 Aesop Rock Announces Spirit World Field Guide Hear The Gates Stereogum Archived from the original on October 1 2020 Retrieved November 2 2020 Aesop Rock Drops Video for Pizza Alley Spin October 16 2020 Archived from the original on October 19 2020 Retrieved November 2 2020 Yoo Noah Bloom Madison November 13 2020 8 New Albums You Should Listen to Now Amaarae Ana Roxanne Davido and More Pitchfork Archived from the original on November 15 2020 Retrieved November 16 2020 Aesop Rock Enters the Subconscious in Coveralls HipHopDX November 13 2020 Archived from the original on November 19 2020 Retrieved November 16 2020 Breihan Tom November 18 2020 Aesop Rock s New Album Is A Dizzy Vision Quest Stereogum Archived from the original on November 18 2020 Retrieved November 18 2020 Breihan Tom December 7 2020 Best Rap Albums 2020 Stereogum Retrieved December 7 2020 Zidel Alex November 23 2020 Future amp Lil Uzi Vert Miss Out On 1 Debut Sales Report HotNewHipHop Urbanlinx Media Retrieved December 7 2020 a b Aesop Rock Chart History Billboard 200 Billboard Retrieved November 24 2020 a b Aesop Rock Chart History Top R amp B Hip Hop Albums Billboard Retrieved November 24 2020 a b Aesop Rock Chart History Independent Albums Billboard Retrieved November 30 2020 a b Aesop Rock Chart History Top Tastemaker Albums Billboard Retrieved November 30 2020 Spirit World Field Guide Media notes Aesop Rock Rhymesayers Entertainment 2020 a href Template Cite AV media notes html title Template Cite AV media notes cite AV media notes a CS1 maint others in cite AV media notes link Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Spirit World Field Guide amp oldid 1079258583, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
