Buy Now
- Critic score
- Publication
- By date
-
May 16, 2011While the album is a revolutionary object in that such fantastic filth was born and flourished outside the corporate--and even indie--music industry, production is about the only thing to be objective about, as everything else is polarizing and preaching to the converted.
-
May 11, 2011His fantasies and lack of filter are still huge roadblocks for many if not most listeners. They're depraved and despicable, tied in part to a long and unfortunate legacy of gangster and street rap. They're also one aspect of a larger, character-driven story -- a license that we grant to visual arts, film, and literature but rarely to pop music.
-
May 11, 2011It's that sort of shameful thing that would prevent us from seeing Goblin for what it really is: a massive spoonful of marvelous hip-hop medicine, of the most unnerving, hyperreal humour you may well ever hear.
-
May 16, 2011It's an album that leaves you in no doubt that Odd Future's leader is a rare talent.
-
May 10, 2011If Tyler's lyrics are early-Eminem evil, his offhandedly lush, left-field R&B-tinged tracks are like strips of light sneaking through the cracks of a lunatic's drawn blinds.
-
May 17, 2011By introducing the concept of rap as therapy through expansive, rambling tracks (that are admittedly a bit too trying on the patience to be played repeatedly), Tyler has certainly set himself apart from the endless sea of new young rappers.
-
May 10, 2011Brash and unwieldy as it seems on the surface, Goblin is a deliberately crafted work of art, one of the densest and most provocative statements that independent rap has produced in years.
-
May 9, 2011Is the entire thing about 20 minutes too long? Probably. But the obvious lack of outside meddling proves that Tyler's auteur status remains intact. He is, in the parlance of our times, still swaggin'. Now maybe he can get to work on winning that Grammy.
-
May 16, 2011Too bad Kanye--who's also a fan--already used the title last fall, because Goblin is one Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
-
May 9, 2011Goblin is just as disturbed and twisted as Tyler's debut. And, moreover, it's every bit as outrageously brilliant.
-
Sep 20, 2011This album then delivers anger, honesty and arrogance, all in sporadic scatter-gun fashion: the overriding feeling is confused, uncertain, often unreasonable, but ultimately well intentioned.
-
May 10, 2011Those songs are products of an ambition that hasn't quite been tamed, but on the majority of Goblin, Tyler genuinely uses his creative freedom to create the fantastic.
-
May 16, 2011It's a lot to take in, but the simple, hypnotic beauty of the stark landscapes Tyler has created here reveals itself more with each subsequent listen.
-
May 9, 2011Pairing beats both aggressively sinister and minimalist-sleek, Tyler--when he's not bloating the album with narratives--continues to prove himself a capable wordsmith and beatmaker.
-
May 9, 2011There are many arguments for and against Tyler's mouth and mind, but once the language barrier is crossed and ears become numb, the real brilliance of Goblin can be heard.
-
May 10, 2011It may be a sprawling, jumbled mess, but if Goblin's primary reason for being is to further convince us just how completely nuts Tyler actually is, then I'd say it's a success.
-
Jun 27, 2011Ultimately, this album is about Tyler and we cannot dictate how somebody chooses to express themselves, so the best thing to do is sit back and let him open himself up. warts and all… So yes, I highly recommend the album.
-
May 10, 2011The insanity in Tyler's ever-more-popular rap character feels real because he too recognizes it. He's crazy and it's crazy that we're listening, but maybe that makes the actual world slightly more sane. Oh, the horror.
-
May 12, 2011Tyler, the Creator still achieves an engrossing dystopian vision of Hip Hop that refuses to compromise to what fans and industry critics demand of him.
-
May 24, 2011Sometimes this anger is ugly and interesting. Sometimes it is shallow and shocking. But something tells me that, while I have no trouble dismissing loads of offensive hip-hop, I won't be able to write this one off so easily.
-
May 10, 2011While the production may not be as exciting as the first serving, it helps to connect Goblin's deeper meanings with their formation on Bastard.
-
May 16, 2011His second solo album, while often truly horrible, is also fascinating and funny.
-
May 9, 2011It all sounds a little off, at times broken or aggressively annoying, an intentionally wobbly frame around an imagination that's churning at 1000 miles an hour. Call it avant-garde at your own risk, but at times this music has as much in common with electro-punk as it does hip-hop.
-
Aug 4, 2011At first listen, you'll think this album is a disappointment and didn't live up to the hype. And maybe it didn't, but this isn't Bastard--it's an album with a much deeper theme and message, with just enough blood-thirsty lines and misogyny to hold the kids over.
-
May 20, 2011Ultimately, listening to Goblin feels a lot like reading a creative writing assignment by the kid in the army boots and trench coat who sits in the corner. There are moments of clarity that show a unique talent, if only he weren't trying quite so hard to be unique.
Awards & Rankings
User score distribution:
-
Positive: 170 out of 258
-
Mixed: 63 out of 258
-
Negative: 25 out of 258
-
Oct 29, 2011
-
Jul 22, 2011
-
May 12, 2011