Apr
11
2009

Asher Roth – ‘Asleep on the Bread Aisle’ Synopsis

The danger in hyping up an artist so much is that people tend to expect perfection right off the bat. This is a good way to ensure disappointment. Take Asher Roth, for instance. He’s gathered reams upon reams of hype ever since he dropped “Roth Boys” and The Greenhouse Effect. Rap mags dubbed him the “next big thing.” Internetz crowned him the “white Lupe Fiasco.” That none of this is true doesn’t mean Roth is not worth his weight. I gave his debut album a spin last night and tweeted my thoughts in real time. In case you missed it, here’s my track-by-track synopsis of Asleep on the Bread Aisle.

The album kicks off with a bang but never quite sustains that intensity. Still, there are some magical moments here.

  1. “Lark on My Go Cart” – He smashed this piñata right on the nose. And we’re the lucky recipients of the candy-coated, bite-sized metaphors. Three minutes of trunk-rattling goodness.

  2. “Blunt Cruise” – Beautifully textured. Terribly sequenced.

  3. “I Love College” – Old news. Blends nerdiness with pop bliss. Lyrics bore me to tears.

  4. “La Di Da” – Basks in the austere grandeur of warm meditations.

  5. “Be By Myself (Ft. Cee-Lo)” – Makes me want to jump up and dance … by myself.

  6. “She Don’t Want A Man (Ft. Estelle)” – A tall, skinny glass of synth-pop topped with cornelian cherry. Surefire single. Waste of Estelle’s talent.

  7. “Sour Patch Kids” – Frozen, thawed, dipped in a bucket of electronic sounds, then poured down the speakers with a vengeance. Intense

  8. “As I Em” – Myth: The similarities = complexion & vocal inflection. Fact: The similarities extend beyond complexion & vocal inflection.

  9. “Lions Roar” (Ft. Busta Rhymes) – A rush of electricity sprawled across the soundscape. 2 million bpm. Busta feels right at home.

  10. “Bad Day” (Ft. Jazze Pha) – Mildly amusing tales we can all relate to on some level.

  11. “His Dream” – Mellow, ambient rap. Unravels slowly. A good narrative.

  12. “Fallin’” – This is a nod to Jay-Z, who Asher Roth claims as his primary influence (if you believe that nonsense), in more ways than one. His playful delivery stacks against blasts of staccato rhythm. Get past the nursery rhymes and you’ll find it irresistible.

Overall, Asleep on the Bread Aisle is an average, uneven hodgepodge of tales drawn from Asher Roth’s unique experience. Get past Roth’s blatant attempt to appeal to everyone at the same time and the songs work together like a sonic Jenga.


32 Responses

1. DJ Hen Says:

where did you here the new album at? trying to get it the past couple of days

2.
Rizoh
Rizoh Says:

Top secret. j/k press copy.

3. Blogbdon Says:

[...] a little more negative than the other things I’ve heard; either way, I’m excited - Asher Roth – ‘Asleep on the Bread Aisle’ Review [via The Rap Up] Share my Shit [...]

4. Danny Says:

my man, that is not estelle, i just got the leak, it’s keri hilson. estelle is british, u can tell that it’s not her bc there’s no accent. it is definitely keri hilson, he announced that it was her when he performed it not too long ago. dope review, thanks for your thoughts

5.
Rizoh
Rizoh Says:

^^It’s definitely Estelle, my man. The copy I received from his label had Estelle on it. Plus, she sounds exactly like Estelle, accent and all. (e.g. “Boy, you need to cool it ’cause you’re not that hawt“)

6. Trackstar the DJ Says:

“Myth: The similarities = complexion & vocal inflection. Fact: The similarities extend beyond complexion & vocal inflection.”

whammy.

and unique experiences? sheeeeeeeeeit. unique for a well-known rapper maybe lol….

7.
Rizoh
Rizoh Says:

^Yup, it’s definitely unique for a rapper with his status.

8. Trackstar the DJ Says:

also–
nice concise review–didn’t give so much info to where i feel like i’ve got a pre-conception (any more than i already had) on the album, but i am a lil more willing to check it out.

9.
Rizoh
Rizoh Says:

^^Thanks, fam.

10. Matt Day Says:

Hey Rizoh,

How does it hold up to The Greenhouse Effect? I find a lot of mixtapes hyping an album to be better than the album they’re supposed to promote, and I loved The Greenhouse Effect.

11. DAnO Says:

I like how he samples weezer and ben kweller. solid

12. Jay Daniels Says:

It is DEFINATELY keri hilson. 200%. I know it is i’ve heard asher say it himself. ive read all the listening party reviews. and i’ve heard a lot of keri hilsons and estelles music. you have to be retarded to think that is estelle, for real. dont give a fuck what copy you got, im tellin you its keri hilson. such a fucking corny ass review, the album is dope anyway.

13. Jay Daniels Says:

with estelles british accent, she would pronounce dance completely different too… and that “hawwt” is definately an american accent.. and keri hilson has that girly lisp that you can hear. slap yourself in the face, do some research, im sure i could find an asher video on youtube with him mentioning keri hilsons name. never has he said estelle. the record happened to be passed around and offered to many female singers, the one with estelle didn’t fly, most likely cause of the accent, so it was keri hilson who got the spot.

14. PrettyPink Says:

caugh

http://anonym.to/?http://uploading.com/files/6NLW5YW7/Asher%20Roth%20-%20Asleep%20In%20The%20Bread%20Aisle%20Clean%20(2009).rar.html

15. PrettyPink Says:

cough
http://www.m*diafire.com/?mtjtmt4ykuv

16. DAnO Says:

cough cough http://tr.im/iHhb

17. DAnO Says:

this album is going to transform rap forever.

18. J to the AAP Says:

I have a friend who has a neighbour who has a housekeeper that also cleans the house of the studio engineer that actually record the song and he told me it was actually Jay Daniels & Danny doing their best Keri Hilson impression which turned out to sound like Estelle so the label wrongly printed her name on the actual album plus I’m pretty sure I heard Asher himself say Jay Daniels name in a Youtube video I may have seen sometime ago jeez riz don’t you know anything?!?!?!

19. $$ Says:

ITS BLOODY KERI HILSON

20. Mike Spacey Says:

yeah it Keri, the song is on his myspace and it says so

21. emil Says:

i agree on the bullshit where Roth stated that Jay was his primary influence, what a load of horse shit.

we all know he secretly studied eminem’s tapes and took a huge bite of his style.

22. Killa Nick Says:

haha, people tripping balls over whether or not it is Keri Hilson is hilarious. “OMG its KERI HILSON YOU FOOL!!!!11!!!” Who cares.

haha, anyways, good review man. reviews seem to be all over the place in rating this album.

23. The Rap Up » Asher Roth - “Y.O.U.” (Feat. Slick Rick) Says:

[...] behold the bonus track from that “I Love College” guy. I gather that his debut album, Asleep in the Bed Aisle, is selling like hot cakes right now. In fact, if you don’t hurry to Best Buy, you’ll [...]

24. Zulu Says:

The Greenhouse Effect elevated my hopes. This is aight at best. The production alone does not even qualify this as “classic” like Steve Rifkin puts it. Expected more, better, stronger first.

25. LISTEN Says:

the album was good, not great. you have to think tho, as a first album it was smart marketing. I love college put him on the scene. Blunt cruisin is another laid back song that appeals to college kids. She don’t want to man could be a club hit. Lark on my go kart has a nice beat and is just a fun song not to be taken too seriously lyrically. Then there are songs like Be By Myself and Lion’s roar that show Asher can actually spit. Then comes the part of the album that is actually legit. Sour Patch kids, fallin, and especially his dream (my opinion best songs off the album) show asher can rap about serious things and highlight his best trait, storytelling. the kid has major potential and someone he knows is a marketing genius. oh, and make sure you listen to “as i em”.

26. The Rap Up » Rick Rawse Rains on Asher Roth’s Parade Says:

[...] publicity Asher Roth enjoyed from his apparent obsession with nappy-headed hoes, his debut album Asleep in the Bread Aisle only managed a moderate 65,000 copies in its first week. That was good enough to land A-Roth at [...]

27.
Rizoh
Rizoh Says:

Just listened to the album version of “She Don’t Want A Man.” They definitely switched the vocalists at the last minute. Estelle is on the version they sent me. Keri Hilson is on the album version.

28. Walter Says:

I pretty much agree with Rizoh’s opinion on it, but I’d like to add that on his second album (if he has one), if he actually plays more to his storytelling prowess, he can have a solid second album. Personally, I think his debut is solid…I mean, it’s not Reasonable Doubt or anything near that level, but it’s not horrific.

29. Hayden Says:

it definately is keri hilson

30.
Rizoh
Rizoh Says:

It’s Keri on the album, but Estelle was on the earlier version which I may just have to upload sometime.

31. Halftime Report: The Best and Worst Rap Albums & Songs of 2009 (So Far) | The Rap Up Says:

[...] Asher Roth – Asleep in the Bread Aisle [...]

32. Samantha Says:

I just found sick backstage footage of Asher Roth rehearsing for his tour! There are five videos of- I Love College, La Di Da, Sour Patch Kids, As I Em, and Be By Myself. Check it out at – http://www.billboard.com/#/features/video-asher-roth-tour-rehearsal-1003997675.story



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