It is incredibly entertaining and exciting when a popular artist chooses to drop an album with a short announcement window. In a world of mysterious cancelations and long wait times, a three-week waiting period is quite exquisite. It benefits the artist greatly, as expectations are almost always lesser.
Tyler, the Creator has a strikingly good track record with album releases. Throughout his entire career, fans have been able to expect an album with original ideas once every two years, but it now appears that Tyler has run out of new ways to innovate his sound and therefore slowing down his releases. However, this is far from a bad thing.
“Chromakopia” is thematically different from the average Tyler album. Tyler makes an effort to emphasize themes of maturing, including ideas of sex, that have often been not taken seriously in his previous work. The album appears to be a major stopping point in his career, which may be for the better.
Not much stuck out from the album on the first listen. There are some interesting features, which definitely catch listeners off guard but still remain quite enjoyable. Most of the musicality on the album is slated on a track-by-track basis.
“St. Chroma,” the opening track, is a danceable track that stuck out to me more than the others on first listen, containing a unique tribal production and a feature from Daniel Caesar. This track sets up a very high expectation for the rest of the album and unfortunately leads to some disappointment for the rest of the album musically.
“Rah Tah Tah” is an enjoyable track, the production relaying some nostalgia points to fans of his older work.
“Noid” is definitely another unique track, with garage rock production and African vocals, which manifest a unique and enjoyable listening experience. Unfortunately, it lacks immediate replay value. The track was also a
single, which might have diminished from the first-listen experience of the album.
“Darling, I” is definitely a highlight of the album, although it sounds — both thematically and musically — wildly similar to his previous two albums.
The album drops deftly in quality after the first four songs. While the rest of the album is still solid, the biggest innovations all happen early, making the remaining tracks feel almost boring.
“Hey Jane” is very emotional and deep lyrically, and discusses an accidental pregnancy from both perspectives. Tyler discussing deep personal topics in detail is usually tasteful, and “Hey Jane” most certainly is, but the song itself doesn’t stand out.
“I Killed You” is one of the weakest on the album, with “Judge Judy,” proving far more intriguing. The song does a fantastic job of empowering both women and men in sexuality and has an excellent message, but the instrumentals of the song still don’t seem to stand out amongst the others on the album.
“Sticky,” while not necessarily having a unique production style with a beat that feels ripped straight out of “Cherry Bomb,” is probably the most fun track on the album. With features from Glorilla and Sexyy Red, both of whom shock the audience, the track gives good energy to what may be considered a weak and boring listen.
The transition into “Take Your Mask Off” is perfect, and it is hard to imagine the two songs not placed together. The rest of the tracks on the album, other than “Balloon” which has a unique production, aren’t as striking or emphasized.
“Chromakopia” is essentially just a much more mature “Cherry Bomb,” as both are a jumble of varying creative ideas musically, both marking major transitions in his career. While it has its flaws, it is still a fantastic album, and it truthfully is worth a listen, as well as a deeper analysis. It is weak compared to Tyler’s last two albums though, and it may be an indicator that Tyler is leaving his prime.
4/5 stars
dwolf1@ramapo.edu
Featured photo courtesy of @feliciathegoat, Instagram
