”Despite the title, it’s a hopeful, vibrant album…there is always light in darkness.” - DJ Shadow

Our Pathetic Age is DJ Shadow's 6th studio album. At a whopping 23 tracks, the album sees Shadow collaborating with legends that preceded him (Nas, Ghostface, Raekwon, De La Soul), Quannum homies (Gift of Gab, Lateef The Truthspeaker), and new blood (Dave East, Run The Jewels, Wiki) alike. In a move that will surely appeal to fans of Shadow's early instrumental records and his rap-tuned work equally, the album is sequenced with instrumental tracks comprising the first half and guest vocalists on the second half. Shadow explains the record's concept: "More than anything, I try to get a sense of the mood of society as a whole. The subtle signals that humans send each other, the way people behave, their frustrations and ebbs and flows. In my part of the world, people are scared. There’s rampant homelessness, and a real fear of falling into generational poverty. People are addicted to, and addled by distraction; they’re angry and confused, and disaffected by their own governmental institutions. There’s songs that are inspired by this energy and seek to harness it, to make sense of it. In some cases, there’s attempts to salve the wound; in others, the songs merely observe but don’t offer solutions. I want it to reflect the times we live in, a signpost in the ground to mark the era…Our Pathetic Age." Black double vinyl pressing released by Mass Appeal. 

• black double vinyl pressing
• gatefold sleeve w/ printed inserts
• art booklet included
• music label: Mass Appeal 2019

reviewed by Diper911 09/2019