Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

Hokey Fright

Hokey Fright
Studio album by
ReleasedMay 7, 2013 (2013-05-07)
Recorded2012–13
Genre[1]
Length55:21
LabelRhymesayers
Aesop Rock chronology
Skelethon
(2012)
Hokey Fright
(2013)
Bestiary
(2014)
Kimya Dawson chronology
Thunder Thighs
(2011)
Hokey Fright
(2013)

Hokey Fright is the only studio album by American indie folk rap duo The Uncluded. It was released on May 7, 2013 via Rhymesayers Entertainment. Every part of every song on the album is performed by either Aesop Rock or Kimya Dawson, with the exception of the drums on "Delicate Cycle", which were played by James McNew of Yo La Tengo.[2]

The album debuted at number 93 on the Billboard 200 albums chart, with 5,000 units sold in its first-week.[3]

Critical reception

Professional ratings
Aggregate scores
SourceRating
Metacritic79/100[4]
Review scores
SourceRating
AllMusic[5]
Consequence of SoundC+[1]
Exclaim!6/10[6]
MSN Music (Expert Witness)A[7]
Paste8.2/10[8]
PopMatters[9]
RapReviews7/10[10]
Spectrum Culture3.25/5[11]
Spin3/10[12]

Hokey Fright was met with generally favourable reviews from music critics. At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream publications, the album received an average score of 79 based on nine reviews.[4]

Robert Christgau of MSN Music gave the album the highest score, resuming: "the tunes are Dawson's because Aesop Rock doesn't do tunes, but his beats beef up those tunes just like his gruff, clotted flow beefs up her itty-bitty soprano".[7] Dave Heaton of PopMatters stated: "as the album moves forward, the number of moments, musical and lyrical, that sneak up on you and tear you apart increases".[9] James Joiner of Paste concluded: "the blending of their styles creates an alchemy that is intensely personal and oddly alluring".[8] AllMusic's David Jeffries wrote: "expect the expected with plenty of xylophones, campfire guitars, and Dawson's breathy cuteness mixing with Aesop's serious severity, but expect to be thrown as well, mostly by ideas of community and how strangers can leave lifelong impressions".[5] Nick Freed of Consequence of Sound found "the short interludes ("Superheros" and "WYHUOM") break the album's pace and hold back some of the flow. Overall, though, the combination of Rock and Dawson is undeniably addictive".[1]

In his mixed review for Exclaim!, Thomas Quinlan wrote: "it's evident that the two were having a good time recording Hokey Fright, and though the album isn't always successful, it's encouraging to see creative individuals ignore genre boundaries in order to bridge gaps".[6] On the other hand, Spin staff gave the album 3 out of 10, summing up with: "Aesop Rock's exhausted abstract rap goes on a no-chemistry date with Kimya Dawson's beyond-tedious twee".[12]

Accolades

Publication List Rank Ref.
PopMatters The 75 Best Albums of 2013
74
The Barnes & Noble Review The 2013 Dean's List
2

Robert Christgau ranked it as the twelfth best album of the 2010s.[15] It was listed by Rolling Stone as one of the "27 Best Albums You Didn't Hear in 2013".[16]

Track listing

All tracks are written by Ian Bavitz and Kimya Dawson

No.TitleLength
1."Kryptonite"1:18
2."Delicate Cycle"4:15
3."TV on 10"3:23
4."Earthquake"2:05
5."Organs"3:14
6."Superheroes"0:38
7."Jambi Cafe"3:13
8."Bats"6:46
9."Scissorhands"2:41
10."Eyeball Soup"2:32
11."Aquarium"3:50
12."Teleprompters"5:00
13."Alligator"3:27
14."WYHUOM"3:17
15."Boomerang"4:32
16."Tits Up"5:17
Total length:55:21
Deluxe version bonus tracks
No.TitleLength
17."Oooooooooo"2:36
18."That Cat Has Worms" (Blockhead Remix)2:20

Personnel

  • Ian "Aesop Rock" Bavitz – songwriter, performer, recording, executive producer
  • Kimya Dawson – songwriter, performer, recording, executive producer
  • James McNew – drums (track 2)
  • Joey Raia – mixing
  • John Greenham – mastering
  • Brent Sayers – executive producer
  • Sean "Slug" Daley – executive producer
  • Travis Millard – artwork, layout
  • Jason Cook – coordinator
  • Skye Rossi – coordinator

Charts

Chart (2013) Peak
position
US Billboard 200[17] 93
US Top Alternative Albums (Billboard)[18] 17
US Top Rap Albums (Billboard)[19] 8
US Independent Albums (Billboard)[20] 19

References

  1. ^ a b c Freed, Nick (May 7, 2013). "Album Review: The Uncluded - Hokey Fright". Consequence Of Sound. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  2. ^ "The Uncluded - Hokey Fright". Rhymesayers Entertainment. Archived from the original on July 1, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  3. ^ Paine, Jake (May 15, 2013). "Hip Hop Album Sales: The Week Ending 5/12/2013". HipHopDX. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  4. ^ a b "Critic Reviews for Hokey Fright - Metacritic". Metacritic. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Jeffries, David. "Hokey Fright - The Uncluded | Album | AllMusic". AllMusic. Archived from the original on June 17, 2013. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  6. ^ a b Quinlan, Thomas (May 7, 2013). "The Uncluded │ Hokey Fright". Exclaim!. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  7. ^ a b Christgau, Robert (May 10, 2013). "Expert Witness | The Uncluded/Pistol Annies: Four spunky gals and a big smart galoot". MSN Music. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via www.robertchristgau.com.
  8. ^ a b Joiner, James (May 7, 2013). "The Uncluded: Hokey Fright". Paste Magazine. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  9. ^ a b Heaton, Dave (July 8, 2013). "The Uncluded: Hokey Fright, PopMatters". PopMatters. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  10. ^ Juon, Steve 'Flash' (May 14, 2013). "The Uncluded (Aesop Rock & Kimya Dawson) :: Hokey Fright :: Rhymesayers Entertainment". RapReviews. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  11. ^ Kangas, Chaz (May 28, 2013). "The Uncluded: Hokey Fright | Album Review". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  12. ^ a b S, B (June 6, 2013). "SPIN's Review Roundup: 129 Lengthy and Tweet-Sized Takes on May 2013's New Releases". SPIN. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  13. ^ Ranta, Alan (August 25, 2023). "The 75 Best Albums of 2013". PopMatters. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  14. ^ Christgau, Robert (January 24, 2014). "Robert Christgau: 2013: Dean's List". The Barnes & Noble Review. Retrieved December 16, 2024 – via www.robertchristgau.com.
  15. ^ Christgau, Robert (December 20, 2019). "Dean's List: The 2010s (The 25 best albums of the last 10 years)". And It Don't Stop. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  16. ^ Dolan, Jon; Ganz, Caryn; Gross, Joe; Hermes, Will; Hoard, Christian; Marchese, David (December 23, 2013). "27 Best Albums You Didn't Hear in 2013". Rolling Stone. Retrieved December 16, 2024.
  17. ^ "The Uncluded Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  18. ^ "The Uncluded Chart History (Top Alternative Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  19. ^ "The Uncluded Chart History (Top Rap Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.
  20. ^ "The Uncluded Chart History (Independent Albums)". Billboard. Retrieved May 10, 2016.