Wolf  was a good album.  It really was.  But it wasn’t nearly as good as Pitchfork Media (who gave it a 7.8) would want people to believe.

The newest LP from Odd Future frontman Tyler, the Creator showcased an anticipated emphasis on production, a maturation in themes and content, and stellar features that didn’t overshadow Tyler’s verses.  However, Tyler’s lyrical style seems to be stuck in the past, and his instrumentals are inconsistent in more ways than one.

Instrumentally, Wolf is a mixed bag.  While some tracks (Lone, Answer) seem to illustrate a monstrous leap in Tyler’s production abilities, they make one question who really produced the record.  Tyler himself stated the album would show his influences (hip-hop/jazz trio BADBADNOTGOOD) and idols (rapper/producer Pharrell, who is actually featured on IFHY), yet tracks like Lone and Answer (respectively) seem to be influenced too heavily.  Still others (Pigs) feature a sound more reminiscent of Tyler’s past works, like 2009’s Bastard, to no avail.  Despite stylistic inconsistencies, Tyler’s evolution is exemplified on tracks like Awkward, where Odd Future’s typical dark, muddy bass collides with humming yet beaming synth lines.  His instrumental on Treehome95, a neo-soul track with no rapping (and vocal contributions from Erykah Badu), sees Tyler exploring different genres à la Larry Lovestein.  Regardless, Wolf’s production is too spotty to be considered the focus of the album, as Tyler himself previously stated.

Though Tyler’s production has clearly matured, his lyricism hasn’t.  His flow is often sloppy, his lyrics are still full of slurs and arbitrary lewdness, and many of the references and jokes seem like they would be more fitting on 2011’s Goblin.  While the over-the-top lyrics in Domo23 have to have been intentional on Tyler’s part, the track contributes nothing to the rest of the album and seems like a failed and out-of-place attempt to be clever.  Meanwhile, stunning features like OF members Earl Sweatshirt and Domo Genesis (Rusty) contrast sharply with Tyler’s lyrical shortcomings, and stars like Stereolab’s Laetitia Sadier, Tyler’s idol Pharrell and neo-soul queen Erykah Badu can only attempt to mask his garishness.

The themes present throughout Wolf are Tyler’s saving grace.  His invented perspective of a drug dealer and the dilemma of saving your family versus saving your community in 48 shows Tyler delving into more socially conscious topics but putting his own spin on them.  Talking about the father who abandoned him, but who he still wants to pick up the phone and “answer” when Tyler calls on Answer is a powerful image (though dented occasionally by Tyler’s angsty Goblin-esque rhymes).

Though Odd Future purists might say Tyler fell off after his debut album with Goblin or Odd Future’s The OF Tape Vol. 2 released last year, it’s clear he’s making progress into an entirely new sound, one that is hopefully devoid of the tacky/lurid/edgy references to rape and violence of some of his previous works.  With such a dramatic and unexpected shift between his last album and Wolf, we can only dream of what Tyler’s odd future might entail.

Rating: 6/10