I listened to Tyler's album a couple times now and I'm able to respond to Consequence of Sound's take on it:
His persona isn't what bothers me but I also don't think the sound and subject matter really ever resonate with me. When I listen to it it's like I'm listening to Tyler rapping over production that sounds awfully similar to The Internet and current Frank Ocean. It's varied but I hear very little relation between the subject matter and some of the mid song tempo changes and slight experiments that seem to flutter throughout the album. The album's biggest problem is Tyler's constant reliance on humor and sarcasm nearly incessantly, which causes him to sound disingenuous at the most inopportune of times squandering moments of vulnerability and what little trust he's built with his listeners. I don't intend to tell Tyler to change his persona but rather I'm just explaining the disconnect I experience when trying to engage his work as an artist. Self loathing can be seen as an attempt to instill empathy in others but without any sense of real grief or pain behind it it almost seems as if you're poking fun at a version of yourself that is so fictionalized that it's not you at all. The persona in Tyler's music is like this gay clown, and it becomes hard to separate the confession of sexuality from the hijinks. It's why I enjoy the album more as background noise than on deeper listens.
I agree with this, especially echoing the sentiment that it sounds like a Frank album
Personally, it's the first album from him I've checked for since goblin and I only did that because of DEHHs review mentioning maturity--and they're right, he's absolutely matured into more than this cartoonish caricature of some weirdo kid--everything from the lyrics to the lush neptunes jr production reflecting that. And I appreciate it greatly: flower boy is definitely a good album. (Hell much better than Vince's latest, which I didn't think would happen)
And I only say good because of many of the same reservations you have: inconsistent tones leading to questionable is-it-fact-or-fiction quirps--garden shed being the one everyone's talking about, but more for me 911/mr.lonely--which is my favorite track and just as hard to read.
He sounds as if he's wrestling with an honest fucking lot in this--colorism, homophobia etc-- which just feels like it'd have more impact if he kept the tone consistent
