Cherry Bomb
A polarizing collision of blown-out industrial noise and gorgeous, string-laden neo-soul. Aggressive, chaotic, and deeply experimental.
A polarizing collision of blown-out industrial noise and gorgeous, string-laden neo-soul. Aggressive, chaotic, and deeply experimental.
Abrasive departure
Screeching, blown-out distortion crashes directly into lush, sun-drenched strings. You are suspended between abrasive punk chaos and sweet, jazzy soul, feeling the exact friction of a restless mind finding its new lane.
A chaotic road trip atmosphere fuels the record, capturing the reckless, wind-in-the-face thrill of speeding through shifting sonic landscapes without a map.
Critics generally welcomed the album's ambitious, multilayered arrangements and sudden stylistic shifts, finding a compelling complexity in its more thoughtful musical moments. However, some reviewers felt the record was hindered by an erratic inconsistency, noting that these flashes of creative growth were frequently offset by a frustrating lack of overall cohesion.
“It’s just Tyler making the album he wants to make, and anyone who doesn’t like it is free to not listen. Fair enough, but he shouldn’t be surprised if fewer fans take him up on it this time”Read review
“Cherry Bomb is rarely rewarding, but there are instances where this obnoxious f**k has clearly put some thought into what he’s doing”Read review
“Tyler still spends at least half his rhymes reminding us how few fucks he gives, and his bright new sound often comes spiked with petulant noise”Read review
“He’s a talented but conflicted voice, still frustratingly incapable of getting it together”Read review
“Cherry Bomb isn’t exactly a hard left turn from this lane, but it is a quick swerve”Read review
“He’s one of the few still committed to the Odd Future brand, like the one guy left in town after high school when everyone else has moved on”Read review
“Packed with guests including Kanye, Lil Wayne, and Pharrell, but clocking in at a brief – by his standards, anyway – 55 minutes, ‘Cherry Bomb’ might be the tightest, leanest Tyler album yet”Read review
“He’s doing what he can to keep Odd Future from being placed into a box”Read review
“Tyler’s moments of flight on Cherry Bomb are sadly no more frequent than ones in which he’s falling”Read review
“We don’t want him to stop experimenting, but to go back into the lab, where a few well-placed slugs to the machine could produce something truly special”Read review
“He can’t let a song clock a clean three minutes; he has to draw it out with meandering, joyless skits”Read review
“Is the rapper’s multilayered fourth album a bid for serious-musician status or a facetious entertainment? It’s a joy to deconstruct, either way”Read review
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