Without major affiliation, gimmicks, or co-signs, Castle has emerged with a very strong album in
Gasface, out now via Mello Music Group.
Filled with dense, abstract rhymes and dark, dungeon-y beats, Castle brings hip-hop back to a place where it isn't easily accessible or pretty. The flow may remind listeners of Aesop Rock, but Castle is a bit less circuitous with his writing, though maybe not with his delivery. "Krillz" is an exemplary track off
Gasface. Produced by Castle himself (like the entirety of the LP), the track highlights Castle's role as alienated observer of his world. Through his eyes and pen, the world is dystopian, twisted, and abnormal. His mechanical flow matches his perspective as he is able to deliver the usual tropes of hip-hop life tales -- petty drug trafficking, urban blight, and employment deserts -- in a way that ruptures the ordinary discourse, not making them seem like a given.
Like Atmosphere without the teen appeal or an emo DITC, Castle is able to find his own lane in a classic cannon.