I think »Wolf« is not as good as Tyler’s previous record – even though the music is actually better. So what is missing on »Wolf« that worked on »Goblin«?»Wolf« is missing the fury, the feeling that Tyler literally spits out the record straight from his soul. This is not the sound anymore, to which Tyler would jump into the crowd, to which skater-boys push each other through stinky clubs. Tyler has got rid of the punky instrumentals and instead moves closer towards his musical role models like the Neptunes. It’s about Old-School-breaks and piano-chinking – especially in the mid-sections, the instrumentals are only allowd a short leash. Hence, »Wolf« is more approachable than »Goblin«, but doesn’t blow the listener away. Tyler’s world has changed: The same bothers are on his sould, but the world that he faces has grown. Antogonisms as a leitmotif are just too big of an area. That is why »Wolf« is more of a conceptual album. Because Tyler confronts the loneliness of great, empty halls with the motif of a holiday camp – and as soon as another musician joins in, Tyler becomes the class clown. Therefore, not everything has changed: »Wolf« moves between coarse Teenager-hubbub and the bothersome thoughts of a young adult. But instead of running into a new world with arms wide open, like he did on »Goblin«, Tyler uses »Wolf« to search for his very own place. The former KTA (»kill them all«) of OFWGKTA has lost its intransigence. The music has developed, it’s only Tyler’s special charisma that suffers. And that used to be in every breath in the musical cosmos of the colorful kid from Los Angeles.
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