Tyler has followed up last year’s Chromakopia, with a surprise release of his ninth studio album.
DON’T TAP THE GLASS was released on Monday morning and features 10-tracks across a short 29 minute release.
It’s not a concept record, with a light Pharrell/Neptunes production style and features songs ‘Big Poe’, ‘Sugar On My Tongue’, ‘Ring Ring Ring’, ‘Don’t Tap The Glass / Tweakin’, and follows Tyler’s guest verse on Clipse’s Let God Sort Em Out.
‘Big Poe’ features what sounds like Pharrell and samples the Busta Rhymes’ 2001 track ‘Pass the Courvoisier Part II’ which featured the Virginia producer, and eh, Diddy.
Tyler said:
I asked some friends why they don’t dance in public and some said because of the fear of being filmed. I thought damn, a natural form of expression and a certain connection they have with music is now a ghost. It made me wonder how much of our human spirit got killed because of the fear of being a meme, all for having a good time. I just got back from a ‘listening party’ for this album and man was it one of the greatest nights of my life. 300 people. No phones allowed. No cameras. Just speakers and a sweatbox. Everyone was dancing, moving, expressing, sweating. It was truly beautiful. I played the album front to back twice, it felt like that pent up energy finally got released and we craved the idea of letting more of it out. There was a freedom that filled the room. A ball of energy that might not translate to every speaker that plays this album but man did that room nail it. This album was not made for sitting still. Dancing driving running any type of movement is recommended to maybe understand the spirit of it. Only at full volume.
Clues were dropped from Friday with merch on Tyler’s Golf Wang website, followed by a live shoutout during his New York City performance.
Fans spotted installations inside and outside the venue showcasing the album’s cover art and title and at his Brooklyn show, Tyler subtly teased the album by lingering on a crate of vinyl records featuring the album during a filmed segment.
Niall Byrne is the founder of the most-influential Irish music site Nialler9, where he has been writing about music since 2005 . He is the co-host of the Nialler9 Podcast and has written for the Irish Times, Irish Independent, Cara Magazine, Sunday Times, Totally Dublin, Red Bull and more. Niall is a DJ, founder of Lumo Club, club promoter, event curator and producer of gigs, listening parties & events in Dublin.
