REVIEW: Tyler, The Creator - Goblin

Tyler, the Creator
Goblin
(XL Records)

Earlier this year when I first heard Tyler, the Creator’s ghoulish EP Bastard, I remember thinking that it made Kanye West’s My Dark Twisted Fantasy sound like a school girl’s daydream. I listened to it three times back-to-back; the first time it shocked me to the core, the second time it made me feel a bit sick, and the third time I understood it – and I new then that I should just put it down and walk away.

It unnerved me; I was in a dark place at the time of listening; the EP made sense, baring the deep dark ugliness of what a male can think and be. Tyler’s debut record Goblin came out in May, and the fact it has taken me this long to consider reviewing it speaks volumes to its nature. Be wary.

The record starts in the way same as the EP – with a trip to the therapist in some kind of failed attempt to exorcise the inner demon. It doesn’t happen, and the album spins off into a tumultuous vortex of horrorcore-inspired, exceptionally-produced psychosis. ‘Yonkers’ has the coolest beats I have heard in a while, but they merely exist as a platform for the scathing verses – “(What you think of Hayley Williams?) Fuck her, Wolf Haley robbin' 'em/I'll crash that fuckin' airplane that faggot nigga B.o.B is in/
And stab Bruno Mars in his goddamn oesophagus/And won't stop until the cops come in”. See, scathing.

‘She’ is a ‘love’ song of sorts (just don’t sing/play it to your girlfriend). It features fellow Odd Future collaborator Frank Ocean, whose mixtape Nostalgia, Ultra contains some of 2011’s smoothest RnB.

The track is one of the highlights, and though Goblin does push the boundaries content-wise (you’ll hardly find this stuff on Juice TV), the album does have a lot of filler, and 60 minutes is a long time to stay shocked (even rapping about rape gets old after a while – ‘shudders’).

Tyler’s rhymes don’t spare anybody; his equal opportunities approach to dissing calls out white people, black people, police, Christians, teachers, homosexuals, his parents, woman, ex-girlfriends, pop stars, but most tellingly, himself. His disclaimer at the start of ‘Radicals’ that he won’t be to blame for any kind of Columbine-type tragedy may be true, hypothetically, but if you don’t feel somewhat tainted by the music then you can’t have a conscience.

Goblin is the snake eating its own tail; a dark wonderland, and I wouldn’t really suggest it to any one. It is very, very twisted. Be warned.

Written by Theo Sangster.