Longtime fans may be disappointed to see a lack of Odd Future appearances, but the features turn out to be the album’s greatest strength. Between the accessible grooves and myriad of A-List features, including Pharrel, Kanye West, Schoolboy Q, and even Lil Wayne, “Cherry Bomb” seems poised to solidify Tyler’s mainstream appeal. Music fans of all kinds should find something to like, provided they give a few listens. It might be a bit of a stretch to say Tyler has grown up (another equally mellow song on the album has been lovingly entitled “Blow My Load”) but he’s definitely been doing his homework. “Okaga, CA”, the sweeping, nearly seven minute finale, is a haunting and soulful wall of vocal textures that somehow incorporates booming bass and high-pitched screaming into a smooth and satisfying track. “Pilot” is saved from a forgettable chorus and tacky central joke by a soupy, fuzzy wash of a beat that alternates between soothing hooks and screeching alarms before building to a satisfyingly abrupt conclusion. “Buffalo” is a masterpiece of vocal layering and dizzying samples, tied together with the banging percussion his fans have come to expect. With lines like “I don’t like to follow the rules, she said I must, I don’t have any armpits”, fans of bizarre imagination in their raps will definitely be pleased.Įven so, the rap element is definitely in service to the production this time around (barely even audible in the Death Grips-inspired title track) but since Tyler himself is responsible for the album’s gorgeous beats, that isn’t necessarily a bad thing. The lyrics are occasionally quite funny, though there is an overreliance on old jokes (I’m pretty sure he’s tried a Rosa Parks joke on everything he’s released thus far) and continued defense of the various slurs he refuses to give up get kind of tiring.
Of course, that doesn’t mean Tyler doesn’t have plenty to say. “Taco Tuesday, you don’t want none of that.” Whether or not this replaces the ultraviolent, adolescent, occasionally hilarious shock-rap of, say, 2009’s “Bastard” will pretty much determine how much you enjoy “Cherrybomb”.
Like “Wolf” before it, “Cherrybomb” has the same rap sensibilities that gained Tyler’s Odd Future crew its internet fame, but with an increasingly central focus on drum-heavy production that often veers into crooning and instrumental breakdowns. Probably the only neo-soul/funk album you’ll hear this year that opens with a song called “Deathcamp”, Tyler, The Creator’s latest offering is almost too many things at once to speak on as a whole piece.
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