Album Review: Esoterik - My Astral Plane

Even for those of us not enamoured with all the records Esoterik's crew Bliss N Eso have shared over the last 15 or so years, Eso's debut solo release is so profoundly optimistic that it's difficult not to smile and be carried along for the ride.

Eso has been the same rapper for his whole career: tight bar structure, occasionally manic delivery; his chief weapon has always been infectious enthusiasm. Here, straight out of the blocks, he flexes a surprise melodic turn on Just For You. On Stay Fly, he's clear about what to do with his haters: "I'll turn a negative comment into a compliment." It's sunshine and rainbows stuff; if it wasn't so obviously what Eso truly feels, this would be a turn-off. In our host's hands, though, it becomes the truth.

The brutal earnestness of the final lines of Wide Awake are a glorious, optimistic way to close this EP, which is sprinkled with fairy dust. This is an age of cynicism, where it's easy to be a sceptic and hope is daggy. Here, the embrace of the uncool is thoroughly refreshing. Seasoned with an old dog's new tricks, My Astral Plane is the sweet staycation you never knew you needed.