• Record Label: Island
  • Release Date: Jun 11, 2013
User Score
7.2

Generally favorable reviews- based on 38 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 38
  2. Negative: 4 out of 38
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  1. Jun 24, 2013
    6
    Some pretty awesome tracks here, solid production, lots of humor, basically everything you expect from these guys. Problem is, the tracks are just too short! Ok so there are loads of them but I'd prefer less tracks and have them longer.
  2. Oct 14, 2013
    6
    There's one thing that I'll say gives this an edge compared to their last 2 albums. While Incredibad and Turtleneck & Chain were good on their own merits, it was hard to get out of the head that half of those albums were basically SNL compilations from the last couple years, especially Incredibad which had a couple tracks dating back to 2005. Here though, besides “3-Way”, every track isThere's one thing that I'll say gives this an edge compared to their last 2 albums. While Incredibad and Turtleneck & Chain were good on their own merits, it was hard to get out of the head that half of those albums were basically SNL compilations from the last couple years, especially Incredibad which had a couple tracks dating back to 2005. Here though, besides “3-Way”, every track is from 2013, so it's easier to look at this as one cohesive project. Also because of that there aren't those awkward tracks where it's not nearly as entertaining without the video. But going to the music itself, one more advantage this album has is that here they're incorporating something they haven't before: cleverness. Even though they were funny for the most part before, it was more in a purely goofy way that even the most simple-minded of people could get 100%. While that's obviously the general vibe here, you can tell these ideas took a little more thought, particularly in the way they make fun of hip hop trends. For example look at “Go Kindergarten” & “Semicolon”, which make fun of dance-command rap songs & the hashtag-rap rhyming scheme respectively in the hyper-exaggerated attitude that they've made their name with, with the latter having a double joke between the actual verses & the last few seconds I won't spoil. Other notable ones in this department include “I Run NY” (feat. my favorite guest singer here Billie Joe Armstrong), “Spell It Out” & “YOLO”. And "Perfect Saturday" ends the album on a great note.

    The main problem with this album though is that while the highs are higher, the lows are much lower. Looking through the track list, to me it's extremely front-loaded, with almost all of the throwaway tracks coming in the back half. Tracks like “Hugs”, “I'm a Hustler (Song?)”, “Spring Break Anthem”, “I Don't Give a Honk”, “I F*cked My Aunt” & “We Are a Crowd” just feel like filler made to pad the album out to reach that 40-minute length, with lazy writing & few actual jokes whatsoever. Not only that, but “3-Way (The Golden Rule)” disappointed me as the 3rd in the trilogy following “Dick in a Box” & “Motherlover”. Why? Because unlike those songs, which are are so outlandish & absurd in concept you can't help but laugh, this is just one sub-par dirty joke with a couple one-liners thrown in. It's not as effective because it's more down-to-earth, and I'm sad to say I recommend skipping it. There's also one instance in the track “The Compliments” where the joke is frustratingly explained in the last 30 seconds via a guest verse from Too $hort.

    The Wack Album doesn't entirely live up to its name. It's not as consistently good as Turtleneck & Chain, but the better tracks here are some of the best they've ever done. If you were annoyed by The Lonely Island's previous stuff, then this won't do much to impress you outside of some refinement here & there. But for fans & anyone burned out on serious subject matter & just wanting an album to make them laugh a bit, I think it's worth a listen.

    Top 5 tracks: YOLO, Diaper Money, Semicolon, Go Kindergarten, I Run NY
    Score: 68/100
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  3. Jun 14, 2013
    6
    Probably their weakest album. While it does have some good humor, there is really no stand out songs like "I Just Had Sex", "Motherlover", or "Jack Sparrow". "3 Way" is included on this album but that song came out 2 years ago.
Metascore
73

Generally favorable reviews - based on 13 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 10 out of 13
  2. Negative: 0 out of 13
  1. Struggling for cred as aging rappers will, they stumble occasionally. Some of these ideas obviously seemed funnier when they brainstormed them.
  2. 60
    It’s not Flight Of The Conchords quality but, hey, at least it’s not The Midnight Beast.
  3. Jun 14, 2013
    70
    While TLI never rival the best of those bygone styles in terms of memorability, this is the first album of theirs to make clear how well they’ve grown to understand the dynamics of making rap songs, fake or otherwise, beyond basic song structure.