The Uncluded: Loss in Parable

It’s interesting to see where all the Def Jux alumni are heading to. El-P seems to be in a comfortable position of being a gracefully aging former king of the underground, Vast Aire is busy trying to relive the glory days of the label while simultaneously having a one-sided beef the El Producto, and Aesop Rock is somewhere in the indie mountains with off-kilter dudes like James McNew (Yo La Tengo) and John Darnielle (Mountain Goats).

Here, Aes has joined forces with frequent collaborater (and indie dudette) Kimya Dawson of The Moldy Peaches as The Uncluded – crafting what sounds like folky alt-rap by way of oddball adult nursery rhyme, if first single ‘Earthquake’ is anything to go by that is. It’s hard to grade the track, it’s simplistic but there’s weight to the parable-like words.

Both Aes and Kimya experienced some kind of loss in recent years, it’s not surprising that The Uncluded sounds more like cathartic art than art for general consumption. It’s self-serving, but artists make their best works depressed. Debut Hokey Fright is slated for a 7 May ’13 release.

www.rhymesayers.com/theuncluded