The unassailable DJ Shadow finally returns to our humble shelves with an ambitious and exceptional double album, "Our Pathetic Age", once again on Mass Appeal. "Our Pathetic Age" is the result of an intensely creative period that found the hip-hop and electronic innovator delving further into original composition and experimentation. The first half of Our Pathetic Age features 11 new instrumental works that balance some of Shadow’s most menacing sounds with beams of hope, including his first fully composed orchestral piece. Mindblowing swathes of synth heft surge to trap percussion, sci fi sequences and distorted jukes, or else jazzy syncopation carries nebulous melodies into the upper atmosphere.
The second half of Our Pathetic Age is a full album of vocal collaborations, ranging from Run The Jewels, Nas and Dave East to Sam Herring, Paul Banks and Wiki, Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah and Raekwon. Shadow notably reunites with his early Solesides collaborators Lateef The Truthseeker and Gift of Gab (Blackalicious). It also features St. Louis MCs Rockwell Knuckles and Tef Poe, fellow Bay Area musicians Fantastic Negrito and Jumbo is Dr.ama, and Brookyln MC Stro. Full track list with collaborators is below.
"More than anything, I try to get a sense of the mood of society as a whole. The subtle signals that humans send each other, the way people behave, their frustrations and ebbs and flows. In my part of the world, people are scared. There's rampant homelessness, and a real fear of falling into generational poverty. People are addicted to, and addled by distraction; they're angry and confused, and disaffected by their own governmental institutions. There's songs on the record that are inspired by this energy and seek to harness it, to make sense of it. In some cases, there's attempts to salve the wound; in others, the songs merely observe but don't offer solutions. I want the album to reflect the times we live in, a signpost in the ground to mark the era...Our Pathetic Age." - DJ Shadow.
The album was produced by DJ Shadow, and the album art was created by Paul Insect, who also designed Shadow’s The Mountain Will Fall and Outsider covers.
TRACK LISTING
Vinyl Tracklisting:
Side A
1. Nature Always Wins
2. Slingblade
3. Intersectionality
4. Beauty, Power Motion, Life Work Chaos, Law
5. Juggernaut
Side B
1. Firestorm
2. Weightless
3. Rosie
4. If I Die Today
5. My Lonely Room
Side C
1. Drone Warfare (feat. Nas, Pharaohe Monch)
2. Rain On Snow (feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon)
3. Rocket Fuel (feat. De La Soul)
4. C.O.N.F.O.R.M. (feat. Gift Of Gab, Lateef The Truth Speaker, Infamous Taz)
5. Small Colleges / Stay With Me (feat. Wiki, Paul Banks)
6. JoJo’s Words (feat. Stro)
Side D
1. Kings & Queens (feat. Run The Jewels)
2. Taxin’ (feat. Dave East)
3. Dark Side Of The Heart (feat. Fantastic Negrito, Jumbo Is Dr.ama)
4. I Am Not A Robot (Interlude)
5. Urgent, Important, Please Read (feat. Rockwell Knuckles. Tef Poe, Daemon)
6. Our Pathetic Age (feat. Sam Herring)
CD Tracklisting:
Disc 1
1. Nature Always Wins
2. Slingblade
3. Intersectionality
4. Beauty, Power Motion, Life Work Chaos, Law
5. Juggernaut
6. Firestorm
7. Weightless
8. Rosie
9. If I Die Today
10. My Lonely Room
11. WE Are Always Alone
Disc 2
1. Drone Warfare (feat. Nas, Pharaohe Monch)
2. Rain On Snow (feat. Inspectah Deck, Ghostface Killah, Raekwon)
3. Rocket Fuel (feat. De La Soul)
4. C.O.N.F.O.R.M. (feat. Gift Of Gab, Lateef The Truth Speaker, Infamous Taz)
5. Small Colleges / Stay With Me (feat. Wiki, Paul Banks)
6. JoJo’s Words (feat. Stro)
7. Kings & Queens (feat. Run The Jewels)
8. Taxin’ (feat. Dave East)
9. Dark Side Of The Heart (feat. Fantastic Negrito, Jumbo Is Dr.ama)
10. I Am Not A Robot (Interlude)
11. Urgent, Important, Please Read (feat. Rockwell Knuckles. Tef Poe, Daemon)
12. Our Pathetic Age (feat. Sam Herring)
