Review Summary: Despite a good amount of fun and interesting tracks, an abundance of ambition and vision creates one of Tyler's most polarizing releases.
It’s been six years since Tyler the Creator came onto the hip hop scene with Bastard. Out of all the things that have changed in the world within that time, one thing has remained constant: Tyler is still one of the most immature people in music. Whether he is posting pictures of diarrhea on Instagram or telling us to lick his dick on “Tamale,” Tyler has always carried this “no ***s given” attitude around with him. That attitude seems to have given him the ability to do whatever he feels like doing and not caring about what other people think. The most recent product to emerge out of this behavior was the “surprise” drop of Cherry Bomb, Tyler’s third LP.
The album kicks off with the single “Deathcamp,” where a pounding (albeit unusual) instrumental blares over Tyler as he raps about how he “don’t like to follow the rules.” The line is an accurate statement that can be applied to the whole album; there are a lot of beats and concepts on this record that are experimental compared to his previous work. Different music styles pepper the album, ranging from Tyler’s self-proclaimed “Stevie Wonder” sound on “***ing young/perfect,” to the industrial style title track “Cherry Bomb.” Tyler stated that he purposefully mixed the instrumentals to be louder than the vocals so we could focus more on the music itself; a choice that, at times, really allows the album to shine. The variety of sound and style on this record does a good job at showing off the musical influences of Tyler.
The album is not without its missteps though. Tyler has never been one for maturity in his songwriting, and so it shouldn't come as a surprise that nothing has truly changed with his lyrics; Tyler is still his abrasive, bratty self throughout the album, for better or worse. Another issue that affects the album is Tyler’s choice of production, because while some tracks benefit from the mixing on this record, others suffer greatly. One of the biggest offenders on this album would be the title track, “Cherry Bomb.” Tyler appeared to be trying to go for a Death Grips vibe on the song, but got carried away with the distortion and compression that floods the track. Tyler is just barely audible over this enormous wall of sound, and while some tracks on the album benefited from loud instrumentals, the technique just doesn't work in this instance.
This will probably be one of Tyler’s most polarizing records. He has made it abundantly clear on social media that he is incredibly proud of this music, but his obsession with making a great record may have had an effect on the way things were executed. Perhaps he had too much ambition and vision going into this record, and that created the album we have in front of us.
All of that being said, the album still has its enjoyable tracks, and while some songs and concepts don’t hit the mark, there is still fun to be had on this record. Most likely, your opinion of Tyler the Creator will determine how you feel about Cherry Bomb.
Recommended Tracks:
Deathcamp
***ing young/perfect
Smuckers
Brownstains
