Tyler, The Creator - Cherry Bomb


Tyler, The Creator
Cherry Bomb
2015

Tyler, The Creator has never been one to worry about convention or doing what's popular; Cherry Bomb is no exception. From start to finish the album is completely insane. Songs seem to start midstream of consciousness and end the exact same way, the bass drums in the first half of the album are so distorted they sound like they are coming out of a shitty car stereo and the lyrics follow tropes which come out of nowhere and are surprising for even Tyler, The Creator. N.E.R.D. is the main influence on this record, both Tyler and N.E.R.D. are the same in their weirdness and willingness to go anywhere and everywhere just because they can. For each song that has a strong beat or a great verse there is another one that at times is almost un-listenable. I'm not sure if the good ones are made greater by the weaker tracks, or if the weaker ones simply distract from what could be a solid album.

For me "Smuckers" is far and away the best track off of the album, only made greater by unbilled appearances from Kanye West and Lil Wyane. Kayne is on the College Dropout level of rapping greatness on this track and Lil Wyane is just as terrific as always. The beat, the mix everything comes together just write to create an all time track. But, Tyler just can't restrain his inner weirdo, He needs to bring it out along with his creative genius in case the listener gets to comfortable. Cherry Bomb is a story of highs and lows, tracks that elevate and tracks that snap you back down to reality. The second half of the record is far and away the superior listen. What I learned from this album is sometimes you have to sit trough some weirdness to get to some real genius. Here's hoping next time Tyler, The Creator gives us a lot more of the latter.

6.7 out of 10

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