The Album Club: "I'll Sleep When You're Dead" by EL-P

innerspaceboy · 12-06-2017, 08:16 AM

I am not sufficiently educated in the realm of hip-hop to make any critical judgment about El-P's proficiency as a rapper. Still, there were many elements I found intriguing about the recording. The album is filed under abstract and experimental hip-hop, and a perusal of his catalog reveals that El-P dabbles in avant-garde jazz and fusion as well. While I've never heard of El-P or Run the Jewels, by the third track I could see why the album is often shelved alongside leftfield veterans like DJ Shadow.

The instrumental hits and electronic samples have an abstract quality and frequently flirt with elements of jazz, hinting at everything from Donald ***en to Carlos Santana to Sugarhill which definitely kept my interest. Reviewers have described the album as complex and multi-layered, and those very qualities are what kept me listening.

The album's theme is dark and dystopian, which I expect resonates with listeners in the present-day Orwellian socio-political sphere. After a week of escaping into pastoral melodies, this record was a dramatic fist-kiss of reality.

8/10

TechnicLePanther · 12-06-2017, 01:33 PM

I really genuinely enjoyed this album. I don't know much about the lyrics (as usual I didn't take much notice of them), but flow is superb and the beats are always very inspired and intriguing, as is to be expected of a DJ's album. I mean, it's nothing spectacular, I don't anyone will say it's the next Madvillainy or Illmatic, but it's still a great classic rap album in a time where well-produced rap albums are few and far between. 8/10

Wipers - Youth of America
El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead
The dB's - Stands for Decibels

Ol’ Qwerty Bastard · 12-06-2017, 11:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TechnicLePanther

I mean, it's nothing spectacular, I don't anyone will say it's the next Madvillainy or Illmatic,

it's infinitely better than Illmatic and I would have a hard time choosing between it and Madvillainy

**Goofle** · 12-08-2017, 08:13 AM

1. Tasmanian Pain Coaster:

Ten on Ten on Ten. One of the great opening tracks. Sets the tone of the album perfectly, has several awesome beat changes and tone shifts. Stellar lyrically and Jamie does his thing on the boards.

2. Smithereens: I love the quirky intro that sounds like the theme music to some kinda 60's kids TV show, which morphs into a typically unusual Hip Hop beat. Not the strongest track on the album, but it's still great.

3. Up All Night: Legit banger and probably the most simple track on the album both thematically and in terms of production. But I find no faults.

4. EMG: Another track that starts with a quirky bit, this time some kind of advertisement. A lot of this track seems to deal with corporate greed and consumerism. I guess nobody is perfect. EL smashes it lyrically though, some amazing lines.

5. Drive: This is probably my least favourite track on the album. The whole "Drive, drive, drive" high pitched whatnot seems kinda too silly for my liking. He's still bringing it lyrically, but the track is kinda boring.

5. Dear Sirs: A quite serious departure from the previous track. Basically one verse over a brooding beat and it rocks.

7. Run the Numbers: The best track Aes and EL have done together. Period. Just pure rhymes and a badass beat.

8. Habeas Corpses (Draconian Love): Interesting concept well executed. Not the most interesting song but it works very well in this album.

9. The Overly Dramatic Truth: One of my favourite songs ever. I love every part of it. The production just hits that perfect place.

10. Flyentology: Not really a huge fan of this track to be honest. I think it would be better placed somewhere else on the album. Just seems a bit tame and robotic after the previous song.

11. No Kings: Similar to the previous song, this is a bit tinny and soulless in my opinion.

12. The League of Extraordinary Nobodies: Finally the album kicks back into the intergalactic totalitarian nightmare thematic production. That's why I love the album so much, and I wish all of the tracks felt this way.

13. Poisenville Kids No Wins / Reprise (This Must Be Our Time): EL doesn't have bad final tracks. There's no such thing. And this is dark and depressing thematically, and sonically.

10/10, even if it's not perfect.

Anteater · 12-08-2017, 08:37 PM

El-P – I’ll Sleep When You’re Dead

Michael Jackson is the king of pop...and El-P is the kang of Beets.

The biggest thing going for El-P on this particular album is the sheer bleakness on display here. At times it feels like the next generation mixed race cousin to Skinny Puppy's Too Dark Park but with a sense of gallows humor and more accessibility / less chaos going on in the samples. This was a vision of authoritarian despair in a post-9/11 world and it sells this especially well on 'Habeas Corpses', 'Flyentology' and closer 'Poisenville Kids No Wins'.

This is one of those cases where I feel I like the album a lot more when I treat it as one "big" song, pessimistic snapshot that it is. When you break it down track to track it works a little less well, but the highlights were apparent. And even if you were in the small camp of people who hated this...well, there's always Run The Jewels.

8.5 out of 10

~~MicShazam~~ · 12-10-2017, 11:58 AM

I don't really know what to say about this album. After that hip hop album from last week, which I liked quite a bit, this one brings me right back to my mental default setting regarding this genre: "This music is repetitive and I'm bored."

There are some very cool little production details here and there, the occasional neat melody, beat or bassline. Most of the time, it's just not terribly interesting or grabbing and I feel like I should be riding a pimped up vehicle with my arm out the window while listening to this, which is to say that it falls way too close to the sort of mainstream hip hop feel that I really quite dislike. Not that this album is bad, but it had just about a snowball's chance in hell of being up my alley.

The rapping itself is probably the main culprit. I can't find any way in which this guy is different from mainstream rappers like Jay Z (whom I dislike), so it just confirms my assumption that if I can learn to somewhat appreciate the genre, then it will have to be through artists that stay very far away from this particular type of rapping. The rapping itself feels like stereotypical mainstream "gangsta"-rap, just with some above averagely creative beats. Apologies to anyone here who is into the genre and offended by that statement.

I voted "meh", because that perfectly describes how most of this listening experience felt to me.

Trollheart · 12-10-2017, 03:04 PM

From the off, this is heavier and darker than the (admittedly little) hip-hop I've heard to date; almost a cross, at times, between metal and hip-hop. Very powerful certainly, quite dystopian in its way. Still has those staggered lines I hate, where the music seems to break up, and annoying jingles or something, but I feel (and I'm almost certainly completely wrong here) that this might be how Public Enemy sound? Meh, who knows, but it's good stuff. Some really good melodies, and, although as usual I don't tend to be able to make out much in the way of lyrics (or maybe I'm just not that bothered) it does all seem to be pretty dark material. Some great drumming on it, and I don't say that too often.

Annoying that it's not on Spotify so I had to YouTube it. There are some low points: "Drive" features that annoying squeaky voice that, for some reason, a lot of hip-hop artists seem to use, though the ending is quite funny. "Dear Sirs" is a little too angry for my tastes, gets pretty frenetic with some fine guitar though and "Run the Numbers" soon gets things back on a decent track. It seems just to maintain the high quality from here, and finishes really strongly with a bunch of great tracks - "The Overly Dramatic Truth", "Flyentology", "The League of Extraordinary Nobodies" and the powerful closer, "Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)". Stellar stuff. A solid 9/10.

View Poll Results: How Much Did You Enjoy The Album?
Loved it	7	50.00%
Liked it	4	28.57%
Meh	2	14.29%
Disliked it	1	7.14%
Hated it	0	0%
Voters: 14. You may not vote on this poll

12-06-2017, 01:33 PM	#12 (permalink)
TechnicLePanther and the livin' is easy... Join Date: Jun 2015 Location: New York Posts: 1,997	I really genuinely enjoyed this album. I don't know much about the lyrics (as usual I didn't take much notice of them), but flow is superb and the beats are always very inspired and intriguing, as is to be expected of a DJ's album. I mean, it's nothing spectacular, I don't anyone will say it's the next Madvillainy or Illmatic, but it's still a great classic rap album in a time where well-produced rap albums are few and far between. 8/10 Wipers - Youth of America El-P - I'll Sleep When You're Dead The dB's - Stands for Decibels __________________ Many have tried to destroy it... but... true evil never dies. It is only... REBORN *SUGGEST ME AN ALBUM* - I'm probably not going to listen to it but I will if you bother me enough.

12-10-2017, 03:04 PM	#17 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,970	From the off, this is heavier and darker than the (admittedly little) hip-hop I've heard to date; almost a cross, at times, between metal and hip-hop. Very powerful certainly, quite dystopian in its way. Still has those staggered lines I hate, where the music seems to break up, and annoying jingles or something, but I feel (and I'm almost certainly completely wrong here) that this might be how Public Enemy sound? Meh, who knows, but it's good stuff. Some really good melodies, and, although as usual I don't tend to be able to make out much in the way of lyrics (or maybe I'm just not that bothered) it does all seem to be pretty dark material. Some great drumming on it, and I don't say that too often. Annoying that it's not on Spotify so I had to YouTube it. There are some low points: "Drive" features that annoying squeaky voice that, for some reason, a lot of hip-hop artists seem to use, though the ending is quite funny. "Dear Sirs" is a little too angry for my tastes, gets pretty frenetic with some fine guitar though and "Run the Numbers" soon gets things back on a decent track. It seems just to maintain the high quality from here, and finishes really strongly with a bunch of great tracks - "The Overly Dramatic Truth", "Flyentology", "The League of Extraordinary Nobodies" and the powerful closer, "Poisenville Kids No Wins/Reprise (This Must Be Our Time)". Stellar stuff. A solid 9/10. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

12-10-2017, 11:58 AM	#16 (permalink)
~~MicShazam~~ Account Disabled Join Date: Aug 2015 Location: Aalborg Posts: 7,636	I don't really know what to say about this album. After that hip hop album from last week, which I liked quite a bit, this one brings me right back to my mental default setting regarding this genre: "This music is repetitive and I'm bored." There are some very cool little production details here and there, the occasional neat melody, beat or bassline. Most of the time, it's just not terribly interesting or grabbing and I feel like I should be riding a pimped up vehicle with my arm out the window while listening to this, which is to say that it falls way too close to the sort of mainstream hip hop feel that I really quite dislike. Not that this album is bad, but it had just about a snowball's chance in hell of being up my alley. The rapping itself is probably the main culprit. I can't find any way in which this guy is different from mainstream rappers like Jay Z (whom I dislike), so it just confirms my assumption that if I can learn to somewhat appreciate the genre, then it will have to be through artists that stay very far away from this particular type of rapping. The rapping itself feels like stereotypical mainstream "gangsta"-rap, just with some above averagely creative beats. Apologies to anyone here who is into the genre and offended by that statement. I voted "meh", because that perfectly describes how most of this listening experience felt to me.