Hail Mary Mallon - Bestiary

Despite their immense talents, Aesop Rock and Rob Sonic orchestrate a relatively unrewarding esoteric lyricism slugfest on their sophomore album as Hail Mary Mallon.

Hail Mary Mallon - Bestiary

Under the handle Hail Mary Mallon, infamous wordsmith Aesop Rock teamed up with the up-and-coming Rob Sonic and DJ Big Wiz for a rather muddled debut album in 2011, but the trio is back with a vengeance for its bassy, creative and crazy sophomore effort. Apart from the comedic theme of a fundraiser concert for a bowling alley tied into the more abstract tracks, the album doesn't have much else in terms of a concept. But constant record scratching, throbbing bass lines and some of the rap duo’s illest flows of their respective careers make this album memorable and a great gateway to some of the world’s weirder progressive hip hop developments.

“Jonathan” and “Krill” introduce the album in a heavy, raw, baptism of fire, whereas “Hang Ten”  and the satirical “Whales” provide necessary contrast - the former boasting a quirky Middle-Eastern melody. I expected Aesop and Sonic to deliver some slick lines, so it was mostly down to  DJ Big Wiz to deliver the beats, and while there might be a slight predictability when it comes to his bass-heavy and peculiar approach to boom bap, each song has its own unique print that makes every track inspiring. The future for this project looks bright.

- Fin Worrall

Hail Mary Mallon- "Smock"

Track from a new collaboration from the likes of Aesop Rock, Rob Sonic, and DJ Big Wiz. The track is named after Mary Mallon of all people: The first person in the U.S. to be a "healthy carrier of the pathogen associated with typhoid fever."

Inspiration comes from all sorts of places, I suppose. All obscure references withstanding, the beat and flows on this track are pretty nice. Could be a solid release.

The Hail Mary Mallon album, Are You Gonna Eat That?, is set for a June 7th release for the physical stuff and a May 3rd release for the digital stuff via Rhymesayers.

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