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>in some ways it's like dude sounds hella alone, like some one
>who lost his best friend and doesn't have anyone to really
>vibe with and is bordering on that paranoid shit
I might have said that about Wolf, especially since that seems to be a recurrent theme in that album.
"Fucking Young" really got my attention at first and jumpstarted the season of #GOLFWANG I've been on recently.
1) Deathcamp - sounds vaguely Pharrell-ish (I think it's the tone of voice he's using on here). It's a wacky, rock-edged song, with pointed and at times hilarious lyrics. It's probably some of the most confident I've heard him as a rapper. 4/5
2) Buffalo - as said above, the beat bangs in a disjointed kind of boom-bap way; love the way the chords come in for the "chorus". This might be one of the best verses he's ever written, but unfortunately (like most of the album) the mixing is such, you gotta have "D'Mumblo" ears to make them out completely. 4.5/5
3) Pilot - a great song (melody wise) ruined by intentionally abrasive mixing/mastering. if this shit was more "clear" it would be among his best songs as an artist. 3/5
4) Run - this is more like an interlude. Almost sounds like Tyler doing a Kendrick Lamar song pre-TPAB or some shit. 3/5
5) Find Your Wings - finally! a song where the mixing isn't fucked up. Roy Ayers guests. This is one of those songs that perplexes you... wouldn't sound out of place after listening to Kendrick's latest, really. 5/5
6) Cherry Bomb - this takes the fucked up mix on "Pilot" to an even higher extreme; forget trying to hear the lyrics. Even D'Mumblo deciphering isn't going to bring it out. That being said, the chords you'll hear as a central theme of "Okaga, CA" first make their appearance here. Reminds me of Yeezus on coke. 3/5
7) Blow My Load - kind of reminds me of a "clean" version of "VCR Wheels" (by "clean", I mean that the lyrics aren't so fucked up that you got Westbrook face). Again with the "WTF" guest appearances (Wanya Morris, Dam Funk on keyboards... who I guessed). Syd's outro is one of those segments that really baffle me of how good it is, and how it doesn't quite fit with what many think of Tyler's persona. My favorite part of this is that "radio" segment at the end. G-O-L-F, G-O-L-F.... it's GOLF RADIO. 4.5/5
8) 2Seater - Not a "Bimmer" sequel as the title might suggest. This is a song that definitely makes me agree with that "ADD" tag you gave it in review. It's still great. 5/5
9) The Brown Stains Of Darkeese Latifah Part 6-12 - This also reminds me of some Pharrell shit, in particular, some Clipse shit. I think it's the percussion. Just a wacky song that doesn't really seem like anything but filler. Unlike other wacky songs in his catalog, like "Domo23" or "Tamale". 2.5/5
10) Fucking Young / Perfect - The "Treehome95" of this album. Only, unlike that song, Tyler doesn't GTFO the way like he did that song. I don't know how the fuck he got Chaz Bundick to play guitar on this, or even more how to get Charlie Wilson to sing THOSE lyrics... but this shit is brilliance. This is the reason I even cared to listen in the first place. I used to hit "Track Back" by the end of the first half of this song, now I just play the whole thing. I realized that this is Tyler's idea of a "Stevie Wonder"-style 2-part song (maybe that's why he called on Uncle Charlie?) 5.5/5 (NOPE)
11) Smuckers - the other attention grabber of this album, if only because of its high-profile guests, Kanye and Lil Wayne. In particular, the "Wayne" half of this song is crazy. Wayne actually doesn't sound like total shit, like he has the past couple of albums. In fact he sounds like a lost member of Odd Future, trading verses with Tyler like they've been rhyming together for years. I think this is the best "Tyler + some other dude(s)" track since "AssMilk" (might be exaggeration, but fuggit) - 5/5
12) Keep The O's - another album that kind of reminds me of something out of the Pharrell toolbox, but I don't know what. It also kind of reminds me of the style of '00s DIY rap a little bit. Another wacky/ADD song where the music is all over the place that really doesn't stick as much as some of the other tracks, but one cool thing about this is the call back to "Wolf" (and one of its best songs, "48"). 2.5/5
13) Okaga, CA - When I first heard this, I was like, "who the hell is this vaguely Marvin Gaye soundin' ass dude, this can't be Frank!" When I figured out that it was Leon Ware, cue the Wee Bey reaction GIF. Alice Smith is on this too? This is a somewhat plaintive song about Tyler leaving it all and moving out to the (fictional) town of Okaga, CA with his girlfriend (the parts voiced by Alice Smith is really where this song shines). There is a melodic call back to "Cherry Bomb" near the end of this song. For a while, I couldn't get off this song. - 5/5
14) Yellow - "CD only" track that I haven't heard but once, so I'll add comments when it's made an impression. Really unnecessary with the other tracks.
I think if Tyler definitely sounds like a loner on this one, it's because the guest spots are almost all the high-profile type, and you don't hear any other OF cohorts save Syd The Kid on this one.
I think that Tyler has come out of his shell in few ways, while retreating into it in others. For one, he's definitely toned down a lot of the content/language, even though he addresses the criticism he's received about it. He still drops the "F" word on occasion but not nearly as much as he used to, for example. The segment on "Buffalo" where he just drops it completely and replaces it with another word was hilarious. (It kind of reminds me of when I had someone on here mad by doing the same shit) There's really none of that creep factor going on with this record the way it was all over Bastard and Goblin, and even parts of Wolf (even though it seemed to serve a greater narrative).
On the other hand, the mixing/mastering is just some bullshit. "Pilot" deserves to not sound like a 10th generation Prince bootleg, because that's such a beautiful song.
When I first got my hands on this, I used to only listen to half of "Fucking Young", then that morphed to only listening to "Okaga, CA", then that morphed to only listening to "Smuckers", then that only morphed to listening to "Buffalo" (I would walk miles with nothing but that on repeat), then we get to the part where I'll start at the beginning, go to skip and just let it play. Which is kind of how I went with Wolf.
I still think Wolf is his best work. But this isn't too far behind it. Tyler is definitely not the kind of artist I ever thought I would enjoy, but the more I examine his work, it's a wonder why I never got onto the bandwagon sooner.
While it does feel like there's some distance from Tyler to the rest of the wacky world he's created around himself, it also seems like he's in a much better space in life, and it reflects in the shift in content and even his choice of words and topics.
Compare this to Goblin, when Tyler was on the precipice of stardom after the reaction to Bastard, the ascension of Earl into hip-hop lore, and the general focus of OF in the public conscience. I've not heard many albums where the feature artist sounded as disinterested as Tyler did on that album. "Radicalz" even had a segment of that beat that I loved", but his verses? that chorus... it just sounded so forced.
Even though Tyler is all over the place, I feel like the wind is behind his back on this record.
For better or worse, when it comes to Tyler, there's one constant: "How the FUCK does he do it?"
As long as he keeps having me ask that question (for a good reason), I'll keep listening.
Oh, and BTW. I bought this CD after listening to the digital version, that I liked it so much. Same with Earl's latest.
Yes, I'm mad. Let's move on.
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