[rayword45]

Day 400: Flower Boy by Tyler, The Creator (Album Choice: Hazel H.)

Wow this is the big 400! That's... a rather boring milestone but whatever, I think this is a good album for a benchmark number.

I got rashed on Facebook today by randos bc I trashed Goblin. Sorry that I'm not 14 enough to enjoy lo-fi edgelord nonsense. But anyways, yeah, I reviewed Cherry Bomb a while ago and it basically exaggerated every quality of Tyler I don't like. You can imagine how surprised I was when everyone came out saying the new album was actually GOOD.

And... I mean, they were right. Despite sounding distinctively like Tyler this also flips over every trademark of his, which probably explains why this is so good. This isn't a juvenile, crass, bloated, lo-fi piece of dogshit, it's a gorgeously orchestrated, concise album about young gay love (Who Dat Boy sticks out like a thumb that requires amputation). The most offensive line is about the Boston bombings and my Bostonian friends make shitty jokes about that so I don't care, otherwise this is free of unnecessary button pushing. And yes, the featured are great and his flow has improved but that's absolutely not the important part. The three worst weaknesses of Tyler, production, restraint and lyrical content, are now his strengths! Well, not really restraint but at least this isn't a fuckin hour of him calling his dad a ******.

I believe I've mentioned another one of my qualms with this dude is that every album has 1-4 good songs but then he fills the rest of the album with filler horseshit. Does that fall under restraint? Whatever. Good album, I didn't say anything not said 1000 times already. I need to listen to The Internet.

Best Track: See You Again (talk about a pretty chorus)
Rating: 8/10