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| Pitchfork |
 Even among pop stars, a demographic made up entirely of magical thinkers, Pharrell Williams' all-encompassing belief in himself is remarkable. It's hard to imagine that he's ever had what he considered to be a bad idea. On the one hand, this sublime self-confidence is sort of awe-inspiring, and exactly the sort of attitude we demand from our pop stars. On the other hand, Pharrell has had an awful lot of wretched ideas.Ever since 2001, his rock-band side project N.E.R.D. has been a reliable repository for all of the worst ones. Back when he and Chad Hugo were still dominating hip-hop radio, N.E.R.D. albums served a useful purpose: they brought the super-producers, endearingly, to earth. For every indestructible "What Happened to That Boy" or "Superthug", there was an "Everyone Nose" or a "She Wants to Move"-- something goofy and dubiously conceived where their reach wildly exceeded their grasp. N.E.R.D. albums may never have made for essential listening, but they spoke to an important part of the Neptunes storyline, fleshing out Hugo and Williams' image as likable, overly enthusiastic dorks. So the fact that Nothing, their fourth album, is a parade of deliriously bad ideas-- terrible ones realized with fervent conviction, half-promising ones botched by disastrous execution-- shouldn't even really be held against it. That's sort of a N.E.R.D. album's reason for existing. The reason that listening to Nothing is so profoundly depressing, however, is because the first half of the above equation-- the part where the Neptunes are still cranking out lethal, indelible radio hits-- has more or less evaporated. Without that crucial ballast, both sides of the Neptunes story swing irretrievably into orbit. The worst moments on Nothing-- "Life as a Fish", for instance, which recycles the chord changes to In Search of...'s "Bobby James" and uses them to soundtrack Pharrell's preposterously dramatic retelling of God creating Earth; or the Jethro Tull smooth-jazz beat switchup of "I've Seen the Light / (Interlude) Inside of Clouds"-- are the sounds of an artistic compass spinning wildly....full text |
| Culturebully |
| Somewhere over the course of the past decade Pharrell Williams‘ name became synonymous with style—not simply style, but innovation as well. Musically, if your project had the man’s name associated with it, its chances of failure were nil; even his 2006 solo debut, In My Mind, somehow avoided universal critical backlash despite being marginally bearable. Like Pharrell, his production team the Neptunes has also consistently been praised for their forward thinking approach when working alongside some of the era’s most colossal characters. From Ol’ Dirty Bastard to Britney Spears, from the Clipse to Kanye West, the Neptunes have backed them all. But for every “Drop It Like It’s Hot” there have been a dozen flat beats along the way, an inconsistency that has been no more apparent than with N.E.R.D. In the wake of two commercially successful outings—2002′s In Search Of… and 2004′s Fly or Die—the trio of Pharrell, his Neptunes partner Chad Hugo, and Shay Haley returned with Seeing Sounds in 2008—a largely inconsistent LP that missed its mark with fans and critics alike. Now comes Nothing, which raises the question of whether or not Pharrell and his crew can actually release a consistent album that lives up to their abilities. In short: it does. But the reason why it succeeds might surprise some. Unlike the group’s previous album, the rock element is largely subdued here—the songs are sewed together with elements of funk and pop so seamlessly that they neither bear a resemblance to the aggressive sounds of “Rock Star” or the pulsating energy of “Everyone Nose” that have so greatly defined their sound to this point. In discussing the album to Much Music recently, Pharrell addressed the influences that are so clearly heard throughout Nothing, pointing out the Doors, America and Crosby, Stills & Nash as a few of the names which helped steer the direction of N.E.R.D.’s new songs back to the ’70s. Think sexy, think horn-driven TV soundtracks, think filthy, nasty funk; whatever you do, don’t think rap/rock when thinking of Nothing....full text |
| Themusiccycle |
| Pharrell Williams has been successful these last few years; ever since he hit the scene back in 2002 with his band N.E.R.D. Their first album In Search Of… peaked at #56 on the US Top 100. However, the standings didn’t apply to the band. They were here to shake up the mainstream and make people question what it meant to be Hip Hop. Pharrell Williams has become the face of the band, due to his growing influences with other artists and labels. Meanwhile the other members may not be a household name, but they still share the same success as Pharrell. Chad Hugo is still producing various acts under the name The Neptunes. They’ve produced everyone from BLACKstreet to Jay-Z. Hugo has been referred to as the “Mr. Spock” to Williams’ “Captain Kirk”, something Hugo doesn’t agree with entirely. Hugo says that while he does agree that Williams often leads with the drum beats, he doesn’t see himself as stiff as the Vulcan. Shay Haley is the third piece to the group, and while Haley has shared in N.E.R.D’s success, he has shied away from the spotlight. He has said this is intentional because he doesn’t want to live with the consequences of fame. N.E.R.D returns this month with the group’s fourth studio release, Nothing. Nothing is more of the same from the band. Without a question it will see the same success as their previous albums Fly Or Die and Seeing Sound. The album opens with the predicted second single “Party People”, featuring T.I. This stereotypical dance track does work, but has nothing too special about it. Where album shines is with its first single “Hot N Fun”, which features Canadian singer Nelly Furtado. The song’s bass beat is great, the vocals are smooth, and Furtado’s chorus is a great change of pace. While fair-weather fans of the band, who enjoyed previous N.E.R.D songs like “Rockstar” and “Everyone Knows”, this album might not be for you. The production on the album is great, but it doesn’t have any flair. There aren’t singles that stick out and get in your head. It’s upsetting that you can predict what style of song is coming up. For example, the only slow songs on the album “Help Me”, “I’ve Seen The Light” and “Life As A Fish,” all start with the same cymbals. Nothing is just not that great compared to the groups previous outings. True N.E.R.D fans will find more of the same, and will be content. But they will probably be expecting more from the band’s two year hiatus than this. It’s great to hear the old group back together, and I hope to hear another album soon. Hopefully the next time around, they’ll have some of their old rock roots showing. Overall, the album is worth a listen. As previously stated, true fans will enjoy it. However, if you’re like me, and only enjoy the occasional outing from the band, save yourself a little time and just check out the singles....full text |
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