Album Review: Tyler The Creator - DON'T TAP THE GLASS

After seeing how people are shy about grooving on the dancefloor, Tyler decides to fix that up. ‘DON’T TAP THE GLASS’, while a bit shaky, is full of loose and thoughtful cuts that will make you want to dance.

Sometimes, you can still create something fun while not exactly relying upon a grand concept. Ultimately sketched out as a way where everybody can drop their screens and swing on the dancefloor without shame, Tyler The Creator manages to hit just that goal on ‘DON’T TAP THE GLASS’, an album where confidence and connection are aspired to be shared around. The album offers two lanes that are very much part of Tyler’s bread and butter: bruising bangers where his flow and delivery are as ballistic and engagingly funny as ever, and the more soulful cuts where there’s more focus on his singing layered upon graceful, sometimes groovy instrumentation. They are not exactly the best execution of these styles - especially with his singing really showing their limits, and the last three tracks sounding wonderful, but end up stagnating the momentum of the project - but even then, they still land some solid moves on their own. The rumbling beat that only amplifies Tyler The Creator and Pharrell Williams’ cutting presence on “Big Poe”; the orchestral hits, piano twinkles, and bassy swagger of “Don’t Tap That Glass / Tweakin’” that effectively transitions to the buzzy synths and sharper percussion on the back half; the bustling 2000s beat of “Sugar On My Tongue” that’s full of heaving background and vocoders on top of the song’s infectious hook; the chilly g-funk touches that bounces up on “Sucka Free”; and the lates 70s - early 80s disco (ala Michael Jackson) tune of “Ring Ring Ring” that becomes surprisingly charming, especially with the layers of synths, pianos, and bassline that creates a stunning groove.

Of course, the looser focus allows Tyler to release more hilarity and queer raunchiness with his bars, one that definitely allows the songs to be replayed again and again, but it’s not like he has completely avoided showing the personal cracks of the goal that he set out to do. For as much as there is a desire for constant motion, confidence, and connection plastered on the three different rules he has made, he still struggles to achieve the third rule: “Don’t Tap The Glass”. Perhaps it is with the layer of success and fame that creates more distance towards finding love, but it’s also just how that glass needs to be tapped after all. The third rule might require dropping off your screens to fully engage with other people, but funny enough, there are cases where tapping that glass is also effective in making a connection. It acts as a notification that someone’s willing to pay attention. An attention that Tyler just can’t grasp, even with how much he has tried.

‘DON’T TAP THE GLASS’ is essentially an invitation to the dancefloor, all with effective albeit not extraordinary results, where the tunes could’ve had some more kick and some of Tyler’s singing not exactly landing the way they should. Yet, the smaller scope does provide more focus on bringing some of his danciest and free-wheeling performances and bars for quite some time, while still providing some emotive layers underneath it all. What else is there to say? Sometimes all there is to do is to turn off the screen, throw away current troubles, and just dance without any shame.

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Favorite Tracks: ‘Big Poe (feat. Pharrell Williams)’, ‘Sugar On My Tongue’, ‘Sucka Free’, ‘Ring Ring Ring’, ‘Don’t Tap That Glass / Tweakin’’

Least Favorite Track: ‘I’ll Take Care of You (feat. Yebba)’