At this point everyone should be familiar with Tyler, the Creator. If you weren't one of the millions of middle schoolers running around with Odd Future gear or Supreme because of him, then you may have heard of him from his last album Flower Boy, which was his most mainstream body of work to date. We have all had the pleasure of watching him grow and mature as both a person and artist. Tyler announced IGOR much to the surprise of everyone, because he had not previously talked about seriously working on new music yet. That being said he has an established reputation as one of the most reliable and creative musicians in the game today, so the excitement for any new project was expected to be very high. Everyone was wondering what the next step in his career would be after he got so personal on his last effort. IGOR is our latest update on what is going on in the mind of Tyler.

The promotion for this album was very unexpected to say the least. Tyler could come out with snippets of him with blonde hair in a bowl cut, and he would be jumping around to some music that sounded like it was made in the 80’s synth era. “IGOR’S THEME”, the first track on the album, continued the tone set by the promotions. It is loud and engulfing from the start. The song is very similar at its start to a “Distorted Records” off A$AP Rocky’s Testing album. He keeps the lyrics very minimal and some of them are even barely audible. This was a theme that I didn't pick up on until later in the album. “IGOR’S THEME” takes us into what many will say is the standout track from this album.

IGOR takes off and doesn't look back once “EARFQUAKE” begins. This time the singing is clear and Tyler uses his pitched up vocals to sing about his love for someone. He loves this person so much that they leave his entire world shaken up. Though Obviously not the most classically trained singer, it is clear he has so much emotion behind each word he croons. The beautifully arranged synths and chords in the background create a cascading back drop to Tyler’s lyrics of love. This is also one of the most obvious features on the entire album. Playboi Carti comes in for a lightning quick verse that doesn't add much lyrically, but his high energy and excellent flow make even the most hardened of listeners bob their head.

Love continues to be the focus of IGOR on the track “I THINK”, where Tyler is assisted by Solange in creating a song that makes the idea of falling in love actually feel like you're falling into an abyss. The music behind them is almost frantic and would sound perfect in a chase seen. The word “Fuck” is repeated at the beginning of the song almost to say that despite Tyler’s best efforts he could escape the feeling of love, and now there is nothing he can do about it.

Up until this point we haven't heard Tyler really rap a single time. Lyrics at this point seem to only be used to push the narrative created by the music forward. The first few songs on IGOR show the listener that this isn’t just the average Tyler rap effort. He is trying to do something different with this body of work, and this lack of emphasis on himself as a rapper may be met with a lot of criticism by more casual fans.

he middle portion of the album sees Tyler return to a more traditional sound. “NEW MAGIC WAND” would fit perfectly on Cherry Bomb and the chords nearer the middle of the track are a staple for Tyler and sound amazing as he begs the person he loves not to leave him.

The next cut “A BOY IS A GUN” is another stand out from the project as a whole. The repeated “Don’t shoot me down” tiers in perfectly with the title of the track to articulate how dangerous love can really be. This boy that Tyler has feelings for is like a weapon because at any point if he leaves or rejects Tyler it will be a fatal blow to his heart. He then completely submits to his lover control on “PUPPET”, where he has finally given into the love that he has been fighting and trying to understand for the entirety of IGOR. This love has full control of him and the song actually sound like it could be at the end of a film. It is also assisted by a quick quest verse from Mr. Kanye West himself. Tyler is able to articulate his love for this person so honestly and clearly.

IGOR closes on a more somber note with “I DON’T LOVE YOU ANYMORE” and “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS”. The latter has a mesmerizing guitar solo near the middle coupled with some killer harmonies to finish it out. The last track features an excellent appearance from Pharrell who is one of Tyler’s biggest inspirations, and he helps Tyler deliver a closing track that lives up to the incredibly high standards set by the rest of IGOR.

What makes IGOR so great is what makes any Tyler project great. He is able to articulate raw human emotions better than almost anyone in the game today. The difference between this and much of his older work is that instead of doing it with his words he is doing it almost solely with his production. The verses on IGOR are far from subpar, but what makes it some of the best new music out now is just how eccentric and complex the sounds throughout the album are.

The first half of the album sounds like what it feels like to fall in love. There is so much beauty and happiness, but there is also fear and confusion because you are giving another person so much power over you by falling for them, despite the fact they could leave without warning. Throughout the album he keeps asking this person not to leave him, because he is afraid of what might happen without them in his life. It almost sounds like there is a sense of desperation on the first half.

After “WHATS GOOD” the album switches focus to tell a story of love lost, but in the most mature way possible. The last words uttered before embarking on this second half of the album are “I dont know whats harder, letting go or being ok with it. Igor or Tyler fell in love gave in then that love faded which is an unfortunate fact of life. The album up until this point was spent worrying about what would happen if this person left, until he realized that maybe it might be best for both people if the relationship didn’t continue. But rather than end with anger or ill feeling toward this past love interest, Tyler ends by asking if they are still friends. The listener is able to follow a story from track one till track 12, and that is something that most albums today can't deliver.

At this point unique beats and clever rapping are expected from an artist of Tyler, the Creators stature, yet he continues to push the envelope and impress with each new album. On IGOR he pushes himself by limiting himself, which may be difficult to understand. Without the use of lyrics it forces the beats to remain interesting enough to keep people attention on a song to song basis. Tracks like “EARFQUAKE” and “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS” don't feel like typical hip hop songs because they are big and cinematic and create an atmosphere that the listener can be fully engulfed in rather than just nod their head to.

No one knew what to expect next from the mind of Tyler, the Creator, and yet IGOR seems like the perfect continuation on his musical journey after Flower Boy. Though we may not know what is coming next, it can not be denied that Tyler has delivered one of the best projects of his entire career.