I've been meaning to get this album since it came out and this thread finally inspired me to check it out (though I ended up with some damn watermarked version so if anyone has a lead on a legit one please let me know). Not only is this my introduction to this album but it's the first El-P album I've ever checked out, though I've been a fan of his production work on other people's albums for quite a while.
Anyway, after one listen my reaction is this: I like it. A lot. The production, as expected, is phenomenal, and the music is incredible. My initial thought while listening to the album was how dream-like it is. Not "dream-like" in the way that people usually mean when they talk about music—all trippy and sugary sweet and ethereal—but really like a dream—odd pieces fitting together in ways that are simultaneously utterly non-obvious and completely intuitive. It's not just any dreams, I guess. It's the kind of dreams you have when you're sick, forehead hot to the touch, eyes dry and smoldering, your subconscious matte-black with barely glowing embers at the very bottom of this pit. That is what this album sounds like to me. I can't wait to delve deeper into it.
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