Unless you’ve kept up with his Def Jux blog, you probably haven’t given much mind to Blockhead since he worked on Aesop Rock’s None Shall Pass back in 2007. At that point in time, Aesop Rock himself was Pitchfork approved and enjoying moderate success, becoming a self parody of the indie hip-hop scene he helped create. Outside of his production on None Shall Pass, Blockhead released Uncle Tony’s Coloring Book the same year, an enjoyable but short-in-memory album, and has seemingly kept to the NYC area since then.

The break, regardless if it were volentray or otherwise, has paid off.

Make no mistake, The Music Scene still sounds like Blockhead. There are still the pitch manipulated vocals from bygone bourgeois Americana and the almost out of place big band, jazz, and orchestra samples over quantized drum beats and occasional guitar riffage. He’s stuck to his guns, but he’s also steadied his aim and learned a few holster tricks. By keeping one foot in his creative center he has been able to keep up with his contemporaries, even to a fault. “Attack the Doctor” and “Pity Party” shine bright, but the strong beat on “Four Walls” is impaired by a very questionable use of autotune on a vocal line. It’s so out of place within the aesthetic and vibe of the album, and keeps that particular track from being an easy favorite. However, The Music Scene as a whole stands as some of Blockhead’s best work since Aesop Rock’s Labor Days.

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Released in late December of 2009, Bay Area producer Edison’s All the Information at Hand stands out as one of the more enjoyable releases of the year. Glitchy, percussive, ambient, but never too laid back to enjoy on a good set of headphones or have on the stereo as you do your day to day. What can be best described as instrumental hip-hop, arguably the musical backbeat of this decade, Edison’s work stands not just on it’s own but also in reference to what has come before. Performed on a Monome (think of a MPC with 64 pads) with both sourced and created samples, tracks such as “The Surface, and Under” and “The Great Houdini’s Computer” have that ‘gotta listen again’ quality and the songs endure quite well once the initial thrill has subsided.

The music presented here doesn’t directly point to influence from the likes of Jel, Boom Bip, DJ Shadow, or Blockhead, but the comparisons definitely come to mind. The only lull on the album comes on “Dig Ditch Anthem” which features members of Edison’s other group, Paperheart. Depending on if you’re in the pre-Aesop Rock or post-Aesop Rock period of your life, you may find it to be the only track you’ll skip regularly. Even then, it’s not a deal breaker. In a year where many musicians seemed to do what they thought was expected instead of a good album, All the Information at Hand is wholly refreshing.

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