Most artists of note have released one of two projects in the last year: the thirty-or-more-song mega-album or the concise, curveball, short-rollout surprise drop.
Tyler, the Creator joined the growing list of such artists with July’s DON’T TAP THE GLASS. Much like Kendrick Lamar’s GNX, DON’T TAP THE GLASS came out of nowhere and marked a departure in sound and scale from the artist’s previous album.
This is not MUSIC. This is not I’m The Problem. And this is certainly not CHROMAKOPIA.
Is it Good?
In short, yes.
1. Body Movement, No Sitting Still
The album opens with these instructions from a robotic voice. Instructions aren’t necessary, though.
DON’T TAP THE GLASS is a dance album, and a good one. The first track, “Big Poe,” features Pharrell, and his influence is clear on the entire record. Tyler’s music has never bent to contemporary trends, but here he intentionally defies them in favor of a Neptunes-flavored throwback sound.
Most hip-hop projects today feature crunchy, sustained 808s and twitchy, fast-paced trap snares. DON’T TAP THE GLASS doesn’t. The bass lines are always clean and typically punchy, while the drum parts mostly consist of deeper kicks and higher cymbals and claps.
The inclusion of spacey synth parts has become a canon event for Tyler’s releases. As always, the mellow, euphoric synth breakdowns are a highlight of the album.
And, they’re the main draw for “Ring Ring Ring,” the highlight of the album.
That’s not a hot take of mine. The song occupies the top spot on Tyler’s Apple Music page at the time of writing this.
“Ring Ring Ring” is essentially a disco. The melodic bass line wouldn’t be out of place in a ’60s Motown tune, the synths sound like ABBA, and the falsetto vocals approximate “Stayin’ Alive” levels of pitch. The hooks are great, too.
Other highlights include the first and second tracks, “Big Poe” and “Sugar on My Tongue,” the fifth track, “Stop Playing With Me,” and the seventh, “Don’t Tap That Glass/Tweakin’.”
DON’T TAP THE GLASS is a short album at just 29 minutes, and that’s why it’s a little disappointing that the wheels start to fall off towards the end. Songs post-“Don’t Tap That Glass/Tweakin'” are all mellow and fall into too comfortable a rhythm. They’re catchy enough and you can still move to them, but they’re a little monotonous.
This isn’t to say the album doesn’t have variety, though. Between the hard-hitting “Big Poe” and “Don’t Tap That Glass/Tweakin'” is a gradient of lighter and heavier tracks. However, that’s what the end of the album is lacking.
It too consistently delivers something that’s just solid.
You’ll probably have noticed by now that I haven’t talked about the lyrics yet, and this is because DON’T TAP THE GLASS is not a lyrical album.
There’s nothing wrong with the lyrics. They’re fun, simple, and clever at times, but storytelling is not the focus of the album. As I said, this is not CHROMAKOPIA.
I’m interested in what the lyrics have to say, though. We are, however, getting a little ahead of ourselves. This album does have themes, and the next section will deal with them.
For now, I’ll give my final verdict on the album.
DON’T TAP THE GLASS was a really fun listen. The musical style is unique and innovative, particularly in today’s landscape of trap and rage-dominated hip-hop.
It’s absolutely something I’ll listen to again, and about half the songs earned a spot in my playlist.
However, its flat ending and lack of depth hold it back. His 2019 project, IGOR, was able to blend exciting production with excellent storytelling, while DON’T TAP THE GLASS only accomplishes the former.
It’s great to bump in the car or put on at the gym. But it’s not a great album.
It’s a really, really good one: 7/10
What is ‘The Glass?’
Tyler’s done confessing. Releases like IGOR, CALL ME IF YOU GET LOST, and CHROMAKOPIA (especially the first two) specialized in deeply personal storytelling; DON’T TAP THE GLASS almost entirely dispenses with it.
The lyrics are fun, sometimes witty, but they don’t reveal anything about Tyler except that he wants to be left alone.
On “Big Poe,” he declares, “no cell phones, this a dead spot / you sneak photos, get your hands chopped.” “Sucka Free” expresses his wish to be free of social vampires.
On “Tell Me What It Is,” he acknowledges that he’s closed himself off: “So tell me what it is before I open my heart up again.”
2. Only speak in glory. Leave your baggage at home
This is the second part of the instructions. Tyler is sick of oversharing and of others oversharing. Dancing and positive speech are two of the three cures.
3. Don’t tap the glass
This is the third and final instruction and cure, and an explicit indication that Tyler has put up a wall. He doesn’t want to be bothered. That’s the first meaning of ‘the glass.’
‘The glass’ also refers to our phones. The “Big Poe” lyric above substantiates this claim, as does the album’s rollout content on Instagram.
Tyler’s rollouts and branding for his albums are legendary. Each album has a unique aesthetic that’s tied to a specific color scheme and, typically, an outfit.
CHROMAKOPIA is green and dark. So is Tyler’s Instagram feed around the time of its release. Its truck is too.
DON’T TAP THE GLASS is white, red, and cartoonish. It also has a website. Each time you click on the webpage, its glass background shatters a bit. If you click it enough times, the instructions from the start of the album play.
The most interesting (and telling) feature of DON’T TAP THE GLASS‘s rollout is its unique Instagram ‘like’ animation. I wish you could try it yourself. Unfortunately, it doesn’t work anymore. Luckily, users screen-recorded it:
When you like one of Tyler’s posts, a shattered glass heart would appear, symbolizing that love broadcast through a phone isn’t real love.
Though you might love Tyler’s music, style, or public personality, you don’t love Tyler because you don’t know Tyler.
The reminder was necessary. The last four or five albums were very personal. It’s understandable that his fans feel so close to him.
However personal these pieces are, though, they’re just that—pieces. Tyler only shows what he feels like showing. We’re not entitled to more, and there’s certainly more to him than what he shows.
DON’T TAP THE GLASS is a PSA, an order to dance, to be positive, and to leave Tyler alone.
