A Year Since IGOR

Tyler, the Creator’s album “IGOR” has just celebrated its first birthday since its release on May 17, 2019. Since then, it’s important to look at the impact it has had on the music industry. “IGOR” showcased how Tyler isn’t afraid to experiment with different genres and sounds to transform his musical style, which has clearly changed since his first studio album, “Goblin.”

When he first began his career, Tyler was involved with the hip hop group, Odd Future, where he was known for a horrorcore style of music. From the heavy bass and long verses of rap to what we see of Tyler now is completely different. “IGOR” is where he has had the opportunity to show a softer, more emotional side to himself. Personally, I feel that “IGOR” has brought out true Pisces in him. When I listened to the album for the first time, I made sure to do it in one sitting. As I laid in bed with the album blasting through my headphones, it felt like one big song: a story. What makes “IGOR” so special is how it tells the story of falling in love and ultimately getting your heart broken, all while serving catchy beats and relatable lyrics.

The album can be broken into two parts: the first half that showcases falling in love; the honeymoon stage and finally the post-breakup stage. “EARFQUAKE” and “I THINK” perfectly describe the butterflies you get when you find yourself falling for someone. Like an earthquake, your whole world is flipped upside down, especially when you don’t expect to fall in love. That’s the best part, when it catches you by surprise and you’re left asking yourself, ‘how did this happen?’ But no matter how much you try to run from something you end up, as Tyler says, chasing it.

When you reach “NEW MAGIC WAND”, the tone of the songs begin to change. We catch glimpses of the deep bass that we are so used to from Tyler as he begs his lover not to leave him, entering the heartbreak stage. Along with “A BOY IS A GUN*” and “PUPPET”, this part of the album shows the anger and distress that comes along with losing someone you love. It shows how easily we can be controlled by a feeling, even if we don’t want to be. Further, it translates how nerve wracking it can be to think about the fact that, even when we love someone, there’s no guarantee that they are going to love us back.

This theme becomes more prominent on the album during “GONE, GONE / THANK YOU”. To me, this song is the most influential on the album because it shows the crossover from heartbreak to acceptance. The first half of the song has a catchy beat, giving off a bedroom pop vibe. Like Tyler says in the song, “It felt like summer, to my December,” this song reminds you of those warm summer days that the sun is shining on you. The reprise, “my love’s gone,” is as simple as it can get when it comes to dealing with letting people go. My favorite part of this song, though, is the repetition, “Thank you for the love, thank you for the joy / But I will never want to fall in love again.” To me, this lyric is relatable to so many people being that heartbreak really does make you want to never fall in love again. With that being said, we are brought back to the idea that love will always hit you by surprise, so you don’t really have a choice as to whether you fall in love or not. “IGOR” encompasses the idea of love as it comes full circle, ending with “ARE WE STILL FRIENDS?” If you can’t love them, you still want them in your life, right? So you ask if you can still be friends with them... if it won’t be awkward between you two. Tyler’s scream at the end of the song represents that while there might always be a part of you that loves that person, the best thing you could do for them is to let them go.

“IGOR” will always remind me of memories that I hold so close to my heart which is why I love it so much. Every song manages to bring back a memory from the summer that it first came out. My best friend would pick me up around sunset and we’d just drive around and get ice cream with this album on repeat. It really hit me, though, when I saw Tyler at Governor’s Ball two weeks after the album was released. I remember looking around in the crowd and everyone had that same feeling of admiration, like the realization that the artist is a real person and not just a voice coming through your headphones. With this album, Tyler has really grown into his own artistry and ability to adapt to different genres of sound. I can’t wait to see where he’ll take his music next along with the new memories I’ll attach to it.