Landoman Album Reviews #2: Tyler, the Creator - Don't Tap The Glass

With hip-hop music in general, I think there's a lot of unique variety that makes the genre special. You have the moody, more dark style of guys like Travis Scott or Future. You have the lyrical genius of artists like Kendrick Lamar and Eminem. You have the more pop-oriented of the big names like Lil Wayne and Drake. Between them all, though, there's one name that's always been a sort of confusing blend between the 3. This man is our subject today, and his newest album is one that I was not expecting so soon after his last. I'm not ungrateful for that, though...

With the smash success of his album Chromakopia last year, I was not expecting Tyler to release something so soon afterwards. However, there was some promotion during the tour for that album, so I shouldn't be as surprised as I am. Tyler's background as a very influential and experimental musician has been something I've been very interested in for a long time. With his album last year, I had a lot of positive thoughts on it. "Sticky" is probably a lock for this year's best list considering how most of its success came this year, and a lot of the other non-singles were just as good. Needless to say, I was very, very excited for this.

This has been one that I've had a lot of requests for, and I decided to prioritize it over my reviews of MUSIC, Even in Arcadia, and Let God Sort Em Out for the timeliness aspect. There's also the easiness of it, though. Unlike the Morgan Wallen gargantuan I reviewed last time, this is a sweet 28 minutes long with 10 tracks. It should not take that long for me to write my thoughts, but I'll try to be a little more detailed to make up for the lack of length.

TRACK REVIEWS

The album starts with "Big Poe", a collaboration with Pharrell Williams under his alias "Sk8brd". Immediately, there's a list of rules given for the album being "1. Body movement. No sitting down.", "2. Only speak in glory. Leave your baggage at home.", and "3. Don't tap the glass." That's how you know this is about to be an experience. The first track does not disappoint, with both Tyler and Pharrell rapping on point and the beat maintaining a groovy and upbeat flow throughout. There's also a Busta Rhymes. sample that fits perfectly with everything and makes it all come together. This is an absolute banger, and just a sign of things to come... I hope.

"Sugar On My Tongue" is another very upbeat, funky song that has a lot of awesome production choices. I just love how this sounds. The percussion is very bass-heavy and the synths have a lot of nice 80s groove to them. This is just a nice song to dance to, which was the entire point of the album, so I say it does its job well. It's not one of my favorites on the album per se, but I do really like it. The lyrics aren't anything special, just a pretty basic love/lust song, but I don't think it needed to be anything profound due to how it sounds.

The third track, "Sucka Free" is another instantly memorable one. The "I'm that guy" chorus is an earworm and a half, since I had it stuck in my head all day after listening to the album just once. The production on this is also intricate in a very sweet way, with some great synth sounds and groove to it. The song talks about how he's just trying to make money with the music and his career, and I really think it fits the vibe. This one's just great, nothing more for me to say.

"Mommanem" feels like a prelude to the next track, but it's very interesting in its own right. "Mommanem" has a creepy, dark vibe to it that feels like a build-up during a horror scene to a jumpscare. He mimics "rain, rain go away" right before the end of the song, and it works a lot better since it's more threatening than anything, mocking his haters as babies. In the context of the album, it's nothing special, and it's not a song you'd listen to outside of the experience.

"Stop Playing With Me" feels tailor-made to be a hit single. It's got an absurdly upbeat groove and an instantly memorable chorus, just like "Sucka Free". The difference here is that I think the production is slightly better. Both songs are absolutely great, but "Stop Playing With Me" has the edge in my opinion. The lyrics dismiss his haters and tell them to go away, hence the title line. There are also a lot of clever lyrics in there, including a funny Sinbad genie reference, and I think it works quite well.

"Ring Ring Ring" has a classic, MJ-style dance vibe that I think works really well. I could definitely imagine a disco ball being paired with this while some people in fancy outfits are skateboarding. That's the vibe I get people. The bass synth is one of the best I've heard on the album so far, and I think this is truly special. The song has a similar lyrical vibe to "Nokia" by Drake, specifically the phone references. I do like this song better than that one, however, but that's not disparaging the Drake song. "Ring Ring Ring" is just really good.

"Don't Tap That Glass / Tweakin' " is the longest song on the album, but it's really two songs in one, hence the separated title. I don't know why he didn't just make these two separate tracks, as there's not much cohesion between them. "Don't Tap That Glass" has a nice chorus that brings to light the focus of the album's title - there's something behind there you don't want to let out. The production is also really good, and the lyrics are just as clever as normal. "Tweakin'" is probably the weakest part of the album and definitely the weaker of these two. I don't think the groove is as tight as on other songs but it still has some nice moments. Overall, the whole track is fine, but the mesh between the two songs basically doesn't exist.

"Don't You Worry Baby" features guest vocals from Madison McFerrin, who I've never heard of. I am now fully expecting her to get a Lola Young-style smash hit. Beside that point, this is a nice, more emotional song that I think still has a nice beat and production. I honestly think Madison is the highlight, but Tyler still does a wonderful job. I just think her voice has a nice tone and style to it that really makes you feel a connection. Also, she's apparently the daughter of "Don't Worry Be Happy" singer Bobby McFerrin, and... yeah that makes sense. Both songs talk about not worrying, and they're the only ones I've heard from either, so..... coincidence? Yes. Absolutely. I'll take it.

"I'll Take Care of You" featuring Yebba might be the best song on the album. This one is so full of interesting moments that I just think are so cohesive. Everything about this is just awesome. The production is awesome, with some amazing drum work that I love. The "Knuck If You Buck" sample made me actually laugh, but it's just so awesome that I can't believe no one (glares at Zay Hilfigerrr & Zayion McCall), I repeat, no one, has thought to sample this before. Yebba's vocals are also emotive in the same way as McFerrin's from earlier is. You don't really hear much of Tyler on this, but it shows his musical genius in such an awesome way.

The album ends with "Tell Me What It Is", which is a nice little song that works as a closer. This has some of the same production flairs as the rest of the album, and is an average song in the context of the album, but I like the lyrics questioning what love is and what his purpose is. It's got a real emotional hook that I think wraps up an excellent listening experience quite tremendously. The album officially ends with the same voice from earlier telling you goodbye and that "the glass was not tapped". 

Now, it's time to discuss what I think of Don't Tap The Glass as a whole.

FINAL THOUGHTS.

I really liked this album. I could tell that Tyler put every bit of effort into it as he has with his other projects, and there are some really creative moments that make you wonder how someone even thought of them. The production choices it makes are great, and the lyricism from Tyler is sharp and wonderful. Don't Tap The Glass is an easy contender for album of the year, but where does it score on the Lando scale? That's a good question.

When I tallied up the score, it came out to in between the Great and Excellent tier of albums, and I think that's a good spot for it. It's definitely great and it has a lot of tracks I will continue to listen to after, but I don't think it's innovative enough to be considered game-changing like albums in the Excellent Tier are. Still, though, Tyler is one of the best rap artists of our generation and it shows that an album this short can still be this immersive and fun to listen to.

As for the diversity of the scores, there wasn't a single song that got below a 6/10. That's very impressive, in my opinion, as it shows a consistency in quality that you rarely see in the age of mega-albums like the ones by Wallen and Alex Warren. Since this is only 10 tracks, that makes much more sense, but it's still impressive. I think, overall, it's an absolutely fantastic album in terms of quality, as every single song is one I would not skip when it came on.

FINAL SCORE: 85/100

THE BEST AND THE WORST.

I can't really say there was a "worst" of this album because every song was good, but I will list the 3 I felt were the lowest in quality, still. It shouldn't be a surprise what 3 songs come in front considering how much praise I gave them, but I still feel bad that "Big Poe" got left out at #4 because that is still a 10/10 in its own right considering 4 songs got that score.

TOP 3 BEST SONGS ON DON'T TAP THE GLASS

3. Stop Playing With Me

2. Sucka Free

1. I'll Take Care of You

TOP 3 "WORST" SONGS ON DON'T TAP THE GLASS

3. Sugar On My Tongue

2. Don't Tap That Glass / Tweakin'

1. Mommanem

CLOSING THOUGHTS.

I hope you guys enjoy this! This was a fun article to write and an enjoyable album to listen to, so make sure to recommend this to friends if you think they'd like it! I've got new projects coming out soon, including the Top Ten Best Hit Songs of 2016 list and album reviews for Even In Arcadia by Sleep Token, Let God Sort Em Out by Clipse, and MUSIC by Playboi Carti. With that being said, this is Lando from the Landoman Experiment, signing off. Have a good day.