Released May 17, 2019
9 / 10
Favorites
I THINK; NEW MAGIC WAND; GONE, GONE / THANK YOU; I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE
Least favorites
PUPPET
"IGOR" proves once and for all that Tyler's choice to go by 'Tyler, The Creator' rather than 'Tyler, The Rapper' is not a misleading one by any means - Tyler's ambitions are catching up to reality faster than ever as his artistry overflows into lanes few people would've considered possible in his Odd Future days. He wrote, produced and arranged the album - albeit with quite the array of heavy-lifters in supporting roles (including A$AP Rocky, Kanye, Solange, Pharrell, Santigold, Playboy Carti, Lil Uzi Vert, Charlie Wilson, Cee Lo Green and Jack White). He combines surreal elements and sonic distortion to make sense of love, while discarding traditional musical pop arcs. Though the grooviest tracks are basking in a pool of pop mainstays, they don't conform to expected structures - let's also not overplay those choices as out-of-the-box visionary, there are plenty of highly perceptible influences like N.E.R.D. The music forgets about catchy hooks and 16-bar verses in exchange for pregnant pauses, repetition and letting lush productions speak for Tyler through conversations between thick bass lines, shimmering synths and colorful harmonies. The change in perspective initiated on "Flower Boy" blossoms on "IGOR": Tyler displays strength through sharing insecurities and revels in shedding the abrasive armor that got him banned from the UK by then-PM Theresa May. Correlated with this approach, the music shows passion, indecision, disorganization and unpredictability, unveiling avalanche after avalanche of luscious arrangements and voice manipulations that serve the emotions on display. Tyler's significant advances in the mainstream could've made it obvious for him to venture the pop realm with more digestible sounds yet he chooses to value narrative over accessibility. On "IGOR", no one track - with the exception of *EARFQUAKE* perhaps - stands out as a radio single: the record is meant to be enjoyed from top to bottom as a monolithic whole with well-oiled moving parts. *IGOR'S THEME* acts as a sort of microcosm that thrusts us into "IGOR"'s story of heart break with a concise description of what can be expected of the rest of the album. The track displays a representative sample of the musical palette Tyler uses through the record. Its intro starts with a distorted bass holding one note for close to 25 seconds, with the hanging suggestion of some kind of impending doom. The rest of the song is articulated around two lines that sum up the progression of "IGOR". The first - "ridin round town, they gon' feel this one" - announces the emotional journey and the heartfelt deliveries that characterize the first narrative arc of the record. The second - "got my eyes open" alludes to finally seeing things for what they are and acting accordingly. The instrumentals are layered with panting sounds, suggesting the incoming taxing exercise of opening up for Tyler. Complete with vocals delivered mainly by Lil Uzi Vert and exquisite input from Solange, we're in for a ride! Thus we enter "IGOR"'s emotionally charged story of unrequited love that traces the journey of being the odd man out in a love triangle and coming to terms with it. *EARFQUAKE* acknowledges mistreating a lover while serenading him at the same time. On this track that he originally wrote with Justin Bieber in mind, Tyler's voice is pitched-up, meshing in smoothly with Charlie Wilson's commanding vocals on the refrain. He lets Playboy Carti do his thing on a verse, before returning with a bouncy, shimmering chorus carried by snappy percussions. At this point, Tyler doesn't really go into any detail. Nevertheless the first signs of vulnerability stick their head out of the groove: "I don't want no confrontation, no / And you don't want my conversation / I just need some confirmation on how you feel, for real". Going into *I THINK*, a low fidelity production style jumps out immediately. We find Tyler admitting to having fallen in love. The dark doom-announcing bassline undermines the romantic naiveté Solange helps to muster on the chorus, nipping any hope of fulfillment through love in the bud. The bridge breaks things down beautifully with melodies akin to an anime soundtrack culminating in a final chorus flourish. Special mention to the tongue in cheek allusion to Tyler's long-time admiration for Timmy Chalamet - "Man, I wish you would call me / By your name 'cause I'm sorry". Explicit warnings come in the form of an ultimatum in *RUNNING OUT OF TIME*. Tyler is audibly tired of loving someone visibly not inclined to give as much as he takes. His exasperation comes in part from his partner's unwillingness to be completely himself (evident through lyrics like "Livin' in pretend / Keep it a buck fifty, fuck / Are you livin' in pretend?", "Take your mask off", "Stop lyin' to yourself / I know the real you"). The track features sparse arrangements for a change, with a couple of running pulsating synth arpeggios and self-harmonization of his distorted vocals. Curiously, for a song about time running out, it doesn't convey the slightest sense of urgency. *NEW MAGIC WAND* then lifts the veil on Tyler's erratic response to his partner's previously evoked shortcomings. He begs him not to leave him for his ex-girlfriend, driven to the edge of desperation to the point of suggesting killing them both to lift the dilemma. The chiming percussions and Santigold's supporting vocals contrast with the ominous recurring bassline and background clownish malicious laughs. Tyler is making it clear he won't be the side chick in the equation. Acknowledging his feelings and going through reproach leads to the slow path to moving on. Remarkably, it's not until slowthai declares "I see the light" on *WHAT'S GOOD* that we get to hear Tyler's unmistakably brooding unadulterated vocals. This is "IGOR"'s only track on which Tyler exclusively raps. He re-centers himself, turning up the volume on cockiness in a more aggressive stance. I almost wish he had committed to an even more corrosive direction on this - although the second part is so successful in its oppressiveness it's one of "IGOR"'s highlights for me. *GONE, GONE / THANK YOU* has Tyler singing the falling out of love into existence before going on thanking his partner for the good and bad alike. Vocals are almost child-like, suggesting an uncanny innocence that doesn't feel as authentic as when he let out bars of rage on the previous song - while also playing with the contrast to take us in uncharted territories. The track opens with a slowed-down version of Chairlift's "Bruises" opening jolting percussions. Throughout, a dark bassline follows the track around very faintly, like a looming menace waiting for the opportune time to strike, watching the chorus glitter, knowing all too well it's not meant to last. The modified vocals give way to Tyler's full-bodied delivery, also marking a change in tone and vocabulary (that's when Spotify sticks its exotic 'Explicit' tag to the track). The "GONE GONE" part of *GONE, GONE / THANK YOU* ends on a curated sample of Jerrod Carmichael saying "I hate wasted potential, that shit crushes your spirit / It really does, it crushes your soul". The shade of it all! Nearing the end of the album, *I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE* purposefully leaves the listener wondering who Tyler is trying to convince when repeating the song title: us or him? The last tracks can be tied up and packaged under the prophetic interlude's title found much earlier in "IGOR"'s track listing: "EXACTLY WHAT YOU RUN FROM YOU END UP CHASING". *WHAT'S GOOD* let us think for a moment that Tyler was resolved to run away from the love triangle he got entrapped in, yet evidence of the contrary permeates through the end of the record. On *I DON'T LOVE YOU ANYMORE*, Tyler's pitched-up vocals sound hysterical and the track concludes with the composition collapsing on itself, ultimately cutting off the reassuring "But this just might be better for us, you know?". It sounds like it will take more time for Tyler to free himself from the invisible clutch of the relationship that had him saying "I can't maneuver without you next to me" on *PUPPET*. He tries to find compromise on closer *ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?*, looking for a way to keep his ex-lover in his life. Decorating an Al Green soul sample with some majestic church synth-organ and a funky bass, Tyler sounds exhausted by the emotional journey. Still, it feels like everything will fall into place eventually, with a warm send-off from synths far estranged from the doom and gloom of *IGOR'S THEME*. Tyler is just keeping the last steps of rejuvenation to himself, after one final cathartic wail to encapsulate the essence of "IGOR".
Favorite lyrics
"You never lived in your truth, I'm just happy I lived in it But I finally found peace, so peace"
GONE, GONE / THANK YOU
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