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Two hours before Tyler, the Creator's new album hit streaming services on Thursday night, he shared instructions for fans before they pressed play. "Just go, jump into it," he wrote. "I believe the first listen works best all the way through, no skips." Like the rest of the albums in Tyler's discography, it will take us some time to sit with IGOR and peel back all the layers before giving it any kind of definitive review, but the first listen is an important one. Each time Tyler releases a project, he introduces a new era to his fans, and there's nothing quite like the first time hearing it top to bottom. These are the biggest takeaways from our first listen of Tyler, the Creator's new album, IGOR.
Tyler benefited from an uninterrupted rollout this time
Tyler has always focused close attention to building worlds around his albums that extend beyond the music itself, so the rollout process is an important part of the experience with each of his projects. That process was ruined on Tyler's last album, Flower Boy, when it leaked online two weeks before its intended release date. Instead of being presented as a complete body of work, Flower Boy was consumed in bits and pieces as listeners focused on a few lyrics and made assumptions about his sexuality. On IGOR, Tyler was in control. Sharing a series of video snippets, he gently introduced fans to the new visual and sonic directions of the album without spoiling anything (and he got a chance to remind everyone that IGOR is not Bastard, Goblin, Wolf, Cherry Bomb, or Flower Boy). So when the 12 songs arrived on streaming services Thursday night, they were consumed as a singular project, just as he intended: "All the way through, no skips. Front to back."
‘Don’t go into this expecting a rap album’
Five years ago, Tyler sat down with Larry King and told him, "I hate rapping, only because it puts you in this box." Since then, each of Tyler's releases have veered further away from traditional rap, but he's still positioned in the eyes of many as a rapper. So before IGOR dropped, he reminded everyone: "Don't go into this expecting a rap album. Don't go into this expecting any album." He was right. On IGOR, Tyler sings more than he ever has before, and he carefully picks his spots as a rapper. Sure, the album still includes rap verses (especially midway through when he reminds everyone he can still rap his ass off when he wants to on "What's Good") but you'll be disappointed if you press play expecting a straight-up hip-hop album.
It’s a summer breakup album
Musically, IGOR is a pretty album, but the lyrical themes aren't quite as bright and happy. This is Tyler's breakup album. Throughout the project's 12 songs, he focuses most of his attention on failed relationships, before closing things with three romantically anguished songs: "Gone, Gone / Thank You," "I Don't Love You Anymore," and "Are We Still Friends." Then, in IGOR's final seconds, he finally lets it all out and with a long scream. This isn't a completely depressing breakup album, though. Even the saddest songs ("Gone, Gone") sound like something you could play on a sunny day as you take a drive to the beach. This is a breakup album for the summertime.
He used his superstar guests with restraint
Tyler is at the point in his career where he can easily get guest features from some of the biggest names in music, and that's exactly what he does on IGOR. There are assists from Kanye West, Playboi Carti, Pharrell Williams, Lil Uzi Vert, and more. But Tyler uses them all very subtly. Uzi's background vocals are barely noticeable on "Igor's Theme," and Kanye's voice is distorted nearly beyond recognition on "Puppet." Tyler layered vocal effects over his famous friends and subtly snuck them into the fold on IGOR, avoiding the temptation to include recognizable guest stars at the cost of distracting from the album's core identity.
There’s no one in rap quite like Playboi Carti
Somehow, without releasing any official music of his own, Playboi Carti is low-key having his best year yet in 2019. First, he made a surprise appearance on Solange's "Almeda," where he introduced his iconic baby voice to a wider audience. Then, a leak ("My stummy hurt") went viral. Now, he's back on "Earfquake," where he lost his mind over Tyler's pretty pianos for one of the year's most enjoyable 25 second stretches. Who knows what he's even saying on half this verse, but somehow that doesn't matter. There's something about his flow that's intoxicating and makes you want to keep replaying it over and over. No one sounds like Playboi Carti, and no one's making smarter career decisions than he is right now. We might have to move his name up a few dozen places on our Most Anticipated Albums list.
He was right about the pretty bridges and harmonies
IGOR isn't a "rap album," which gives Tyler plenty of room to play around with two of his other musical loves: vocal arrangements and bridges. There's a reason he made sure to spell out "All songs written, produced, and arranged by Tyler Okonma" on the album's cover. Leading up to IGOR's release, he tweeted, "So many good vocal layers and harmonies on this," and then teased: "Its a bridge on it thats....man.....sheesh." He wasn't lying. There's no way to tell for sure which bridge he was referring to in that tweet, but I'm 99% sure it was "I Think." Sheeeeesh. After first listen, it's clear this isn't an album that will be remembered for quotable lyrics as much as its composition and melodies. Tyler has been playing around with ideas like this since Goblin, and the N.E.R.D. influences have always been apparent, but he's never pulled it off quite like this. Tyler, the producer is better than ever on IGOR.
The distortion, mixing, and vocal effects will throw some people off on first listen
It's early, but after first listen, I imagine IGOR will be a grower for some people. At times, Tyler gets experimental, playing with the mix to favor heavy distorted drums over vocals (and when vocals are given room to breathe in the mix, they're usually pitch-shifted and layered with effects). I'm sure someone on a forum thread is comparing IGOR to Yeezus right now. And while that's an unfair comparison to make, there are parallels in the way some listeners will undoubtedly be thrown off initially by Tyler's unorthodox sonic decisions.
Tyler continued two trends from the rest of his discography
Over the course of Tyler's five solo studio albums, a trend has developed: each project is shorter than the last. Goblin is an hour and 22 minutes, Wolf is an hour and 10 minutes, Cherry Bomb is 54 minutes, and Flower Boy is 44 minutes. That continues on IGOR, which clocks in at 39 minutes.
Tyler also carried on another trend from the rest of his discography: The tenth track on each of his albums is a blend of multiple songs. Following in the tradition of "VCR / Wheels," "Fish / Boppin' Bitch," "PartyIsntOver / Campfire / Bimmer," "Fucking Young / Perfect," and "911 / Mr. Lonely," comes IGOR's "Gone Gone / Thank You." We love a consistent king.
Jerrod Carmichael ties the album's narration together
After sitting down for an in-depth conversation about the creation of Flower Boyin 2018, Tyler and Jerrod Carmichael meet again on IGOR. This time, Carmichael's vocals are used as a way to provide narrative structure to the album. On the interlude "Exactly What You Run From You End Up Chasing," Carmichael foreshadows the back half of the album as he says, "Exactly what you run from, you end up chasing. Like, you can't avoid, but just chasing it and just like trying. Giving it everything that you can. There's always an obstacle." Then, shorter vocal samples from Carmichael are spliced into several other songs, piecing together a narrative arc that develops over the course of the tracklist.
This is a step in a new direction, but not a complete reinvention
As everyone digests IGOR over the next few days, it's likely that the word "reinvention" will be be thrown around to describe Tyler's progression from his early material. Sure, some fans who fell in love with "Yonkers" and "Kill People, Burn Shit, Fuck School" nearly a decade ago might be surprised to see Tyler make an album like IGOR, but he's been heading in this direction since the beginning. Even on Goblin, he was playing with N.E.R.D.-influenced chord progressions and melodies. The only difference is that in 2019 Tyler has developed the skillset to pull off these ideas more effectively. Now, he's diving into his R&B-leaning ambitions more completely than he has in the past.
"It kind of all led up to this," Tyler explained to Zane Lowe this week. "A lot of people are like, 'The early stuff is so much different from the new stuff,' but I think it's just balance. How can I put this? If it was like a breakfast platter with bacon and pancakes and eggs, and at first the plate I was giving people had a lot of eggs. But this time it doesn't have much and it's more pancakes and bacon. I think there's a throughline from Bastard up until IGOR."
'IGOR' is one of 2019’s best albums so far
IGOR arrived right in the middle of our meetings to decide the Best Albums of 2019 (So Far) mid-year list here at Complex. We haven't finalized the rankings yet, but here's a spoiler: After first listen, it's clear this will be near the very top. IGOR is a bold album that follows through on much of the promise Tyler has been flashing for the better part of the decade. The ideas have always been there for Tyler, but the technical skills and experience are matching up better than they did earlier in his career. It's still early, and it will take some time for us to gather our full thoughts on the project, but it's already apparent that IGOR is among the year's best albums so far.