Aesop Rock mixes introspection and honesty with lyrical dexterity on The Impossible Kid, his most forthright record yet. After a year of living and recording in a barn, Aesop's focus and rhymes are razor-sharp, blazing through huge mouthfuls at crazy speeds while getting over his friend's death (“Get Out of the Car”), coming to grips with his abandoned visual-art pursuits (“Rings”), and figuring out the rapper’s life after 40 (“Lotta Years”)—all while still trying to find his place in the world. It’s a thrilling, fun look inside his—and his therapist’s—notebook.