IGOR

AlbumMay 17 / 201912 songs, 39m 47s
Neo-Soul
Popular Highly Rated

From the outset of his fame—or, in his earliest years as an artist, infamy—Tyler, The Creator made no secret of his idolization of Pharrell, citing the work the singer-rapper-producer did as a member of N.E.R.D as one of his biggest musical influences. The impression Skateboard P left on Tyler was palpable from the very beginning, but nowhere is it more prevalent than on his fifth official solo album, *IGOR*. Within it, Tyler is almost completely untethered from the rabble-rousing (and preternaturally gifted) MC he broke out as, instead pushing his singing voice further than ever to sound off on love as a life-altering experience over some synth-heavy backdrops. The revelations here are mostly literal. “I think I’m falling in love/This time I think it\'s for real,” goes the chorus of the pop-funk ditty “I THINK,” while Tyler can be found trying to \"make you love me” on the R&B-tinged “RUNNING OUT OF TIME.” The sludgy “NEW MAGIC WAND” has him begging, “Please don’t leave me now,” and the album’s final song asks, “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” but it’s hardly a completely mopey affair. “IGOR\'S THEME,” the aforementioned “I THINK,” and “WHAT\'S GOOD” are some of Tyler’s most danceable songs to date, featuring elements of jazz, funk, and even gospel. *IGOR*\'s guests include Playboi Carti, Charlie Wilson, and Kanye West, whose voices are all distorted ever so slightly to help them fit into Tyler\'s ever-experimental, N.E.R.D-honoring vision of love.

17344

8.0 / 10

Tyler, the Creator’s sixth album is impressionistic and emotionally charged, the result of an auteur refining his style and baring more of his soul than ever before.

9 / 10

Tyler, the Creator has dropped his new album, 'IGOR' - read the NME verdict on the follow-up to 'Flower Boy'.

7.4 / 10

Ever since Tyler, the Creator left his fictional therapist’s office at the end of 2013’s Wolf, he’s become a radically different person.

Hip-hop provocateur Tyler the Creator drops his guard on a meticulously crafted, surreal, summery LP, 'IGOR'.

Tyler has never been one for traditional song structure, but on his fifth album he’s like the Minotaur luring you through a maze that twists and turns round seemingly impossible corners

IGOR starts with a crackling, hyped-up overture that paints a scene of Tyler, The Creator at the wheel, reacting beside his singing passengers to the positive results they're receiving from the all-important car test: "Ridin' round town/They gon' feel this one."

8.0 / 10

As we roll towards the end of this disturbing decade, Tyler, the Creator and his Odd Future cohorts Earl Sweatshirt, Frank Ocean, and the rest can claim as to having an influential voice over the past 10 years of music.

8 / 10

A few hours ago Tyler, The Creator released his new album 'Igor', his first since 2017's 'Flower Boy'. It's another multi-faceted

This strange smorgasbord of sound is shrewd, smooth and heartfelt – but has Tyler ditched what made him great?

85 %

Tyler, the Creator is one of the most maddeningly talented musical artists out there, and also one of the most divisive.

Album Reviews: Tyler, The Creator - Igor

3.9 / 5

Tyler, the Creator - IGOR review: a monster 'bout to come alive again