Lauded independent hip-hop icon Aesop Rock has released a surprise new album, I Heard It’s a Mess There Too, out now via Rhymesayers Entertainment. The twelve-track project, available digitally today with physical editions shipping now from AesopRock.com and a retail release to follow on December 12, marks Aesop’s second full-length of 2025 and another highlight of his remarkably prolific current era.
Speculation of the album began circulating online late last week when a handful of fans reported receiving mysterious white-label test pressings in the mail of what seemed to be unreleased Aesop Rock music - no artwork, no credits, just an unmarked record in a blank sleeve. Today, the mystery resolves with the album’s digital release and the premiere of the new animated video for “Full House Pinball,” directed by longtime visual collaborator Justin “Coro” Kaufman.
Following the expansive, feature-heavy Black Hole Superette released earlier this year, I Heard It’s a Mess There Too finds Aesop turning inward, exploring space, simplicity, and connection. Built entirely from his own productions, the album strips back his trademark density to let each element breathe—crisp drums, humming basslines, and lyrical snapshots that capture the rhythm of uncertainty and communication in an off-kilter world.
“The phrase ‘I Heard It’s a Mess There Too’ started as a lyric, but it got its hooks in me soon after,” Aesop explains. “It felt familiar, like something I’d said a thousand times while checking in with friends across different cities. The more I sat with it, the more it started to feel like the center of this project... It’s about observation and communication. Sonically, I wanted a reset—cleaner beats, more space, fewer layers. Just enough to get a wave rolling and not much more.”
Together, Black Hole Superette and I Heard It’s a Mess There Too capture two complementary sides of Aesop’s current headspace: one sprawling and surreal, the other spare and searching. Released within months of each other, they affirm the restless curiosity and relentless output of one of hip-hop’s most consistently inventive artists.
I Heard It’s a Mess There Too is available now on all streaming platforms. Physical editions shipping now with retail release to follow December 12 via Rhymesayers Entertainment, with preorders available now at aesoprock.com.
Watch the “Full House Pinball” video https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PpTPK_-0tXQ
Stream / Purchase I Heard It’s a Mess There Too https://rse.lnk.to/IHIAMTT
Stream / Purchase Black Hole Superette https://rse.lnk.to/BlackHoleSuperette
I Heard It’s a Mess There Too Tracklist
1. Crystals and Herbs 2. The Cut 3. Full House Pinball 4. Bag Lunch 5. Spin to Win 6. Opossum 7. Oh My Stars 8. Potato Leek Soup 9. Pay the Man 10. Poly Cotton Blend 11. Call Home 12. Sherbert | 
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