The rapper that once dealt out
rape jokes and homophobic slurs over moody beats is now singing about
gay heartbreak over upbeat jazzy production. It's a continuation of the sound on his last record Flower Boy, but whilst that album was still mainly rapping, this record is mostly singing.
Unfortunately, Tyler still can’t hold
a note to save his life, and there’s less of his personality in these songs
than ever before (which is partly what made him so unique in the first
place).
On my first listen, I hated the
shaky singing and detached lyrics so much that I was ready to write a scathing
review. BRING BACK THE OLD TYLER WAAAAH! But repeat listens have made me warm
to this album more and more.
What made me keep returning to
this album? The production of course. It’s bloody phenomenal. Impressive
production has been the one consistent thing on all of Tyler’s albums (aside
from the iffy mixing on Cherry Bomb)
and on this album Igor he’s truly
outdone himself. From the slow-building epic intro of ‘Igor’s Theme’ to the glistening
old-skool soul of closing track ‘Are We Still Friends?’ it keeps the
listener hooked with constant twists and turns. Thick synth bass, lush piano
chords and dusty samples all weave in an out of one another in a proggy fashion.
I hear elements of Stevie Wonder, N.E.R.D and even Kanye West.
There’s enough detail in the
production to distract from Tyler’s singing – which I admit isn’t all awful. ‘Earfquake’
still feels like Tyler’s stretching his vocal ability too far (and the lyrics
are some of the soppiest on the album), but things seem to improve on the
following tracks such as ‘Running out of Time’ (the pitch-shifting somehow
helps, giving it a Quasimoto feel).
And whilst there’s less rapping on
this record, it’s not all but gone. ‘I Think’ sees Tyler adopting an almost
Kanye-esque flow. ‘A Boy Is A Gun’ and ‘What’s Good’ meanwhile see Tyler getting
a little angrier and offer glimpses of old Tyler without the crude bars. I’d
even argue that this is some of Tyler’s best rapping, even if there’s less of
it.
There’s also a lot of vocal guests
to add variety. The likes of Cee Lo Green and Frank Ocean grace Tyler’s
production with the singing talent it deserves, even if they only show up for a
fleeting moment. A number of guest rappers also lay down verses including Kanye
West on ‘Puppet’ (although his vocals are buried deep in the mix to the point
that they’re practically unintelligible – the only instance where the
production falters, although it’s probably intentional).
As for the lyrics, repeat listens
have made me appreciate them more. It’s unusual to hear Tyler approaching the topic
of love so sincerely – the same Tyler eight years ago would have scoffed at it.
Even if the result is soppy in parts, there are other tracks (particularly towards
the end) where the heartbreak feels truly genuine and deep ('Are We Still Friends?' gave me tingles). Even if he performs
each track from the newfound character of Igor, it makes you wonder if there’s
more personal substance to this album than he lets up.
All in all, it may not be the rap
record people expected, but it makes up for it by being an impressive soul
album.
★★★★☆
TRACK TASTER: