Fan favorite Aesop Rock producer and Ninja Tune instrumentalist, Blockhead, returns with his fifth LP for the label, Interludes After Midnight, an ode to the late night public access television shows he grew up on.

This theme doesn’t necessarily transcend to the music itself, unless Block is sampling bits and pieces of the programming that we aren’t aware of. Instead, he creates a mood for his basement bedroom, as depicted on the album cover. The script hasn’t changed with Blockhead’s fifth, as he largely takes the same approach to production that he has in the past, with some minor variations on this timeless, classic formula. Both “Never Forget Your Token” and “Meet You At Tower” find sampled rap lyrics buried in those layers of heavy samples, while the amazingly produced “Creeps Crouchin’” builds to a full crescendo, showing maturity in his already regal production.

The album carries a solid, murky vibe throughout, and is meant to be listened to as a whole for it to really sink in. One standout track, “Beyond Reach” does something he hasn’t really attempted on his albums past, by collaborating with vocalist Baby Dayliner, who sings snarkily over the track’s dusty pianos. It’s mixed in such a way that, at first, listeners will be wondering where he found such a brazen vocal “sample”.

Interludes doesn’t attempt to re-write the template for Block’s moody blues, because as the old saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Instead, Blockhead continues his streak of giving his fans exactly what they want, another chapter in his ever-expanding legacy.