Album: Nothing

Sounds like: A classic funk band meets The Neptunes

Genre: Hip-hop funk

Soundwaves: 3.5/5

N.E.R.D. can be misleading.

After all, two-thirds of the group, Pharrell Williams and Chad Hugo, better known as The Neptunes, are the producers of just about every other recent song that tells listeners what to do with their booty (‘Drop It Like It’s Hot,’ ‘Wind It Up,’ ‘Rock Your Body’). Their albums are often powered by fun and bold singles, such as 2004’s furious ‘She Wants To Move’ and 2008’s ‘Everyone Nose.’

But when it comes to the group’s actual records, N.E.R.D. isn’t exactly party central. The group tends to be surprisingly mellow — almost too mellow — given its history of producing hit singles. Their fourth and newest record, ‘Nothing,’ follows the same familiar format of the band’s first three records. It’s calm with a little kick, but that doesn’t make it any less enjoyable. In fact it’s even more fun this time around.

Perhaps it’s the oversaturation of auto-tune and abundance of techno influence into mainstream hip-hop, but N.E.R.D. excels when sticking to what it does best: making a concise collection of alternative hip-hop that’s best when performed live. ‘Nothing’ floats through so many different vibes that it could be called inconsistent, but in this instance, it actually works.

At Syracuse University’s 2010 Block Party, when N.E.R.D. opened for Drake (and arguably rocked the crowd better than the headliner), students got the chance to hear two tracks from ‘Nothing,’ which is good because they have a solid presence on the album. ‘Party People,’ the opener, sounds even better in stereo than it did in the Carrier Dome. It’s a hyper-funky sing-along that features a verse from recently incarcerated rapper T.I.

On the other side, as the album closer, ‘Hot-N-Fun’ is a track that sounds both retro and modern as Pharrell compels listeners to ‘get high, get money, get sex, get real,’ featuring a catchy chorus and a Nelly Furtado verse.

The middle of the album, however, is where things get significantly spacier. On ‘Hypnotize U,’ Pharrell woos a pretty, promiscuous woman with his whimpering falsetto while pounding a drum pad. It isn’t sexy in the slightest, but somehow the track still flows. The album weaves through a completely random set of songs that attempts to further exemplify the band’s effortlessness. ‘Help Me’ wanes and climaxes through blaring horns, but ‘Victory’ lacks energy. The album picks back up on ‘Perfect Defect,’ a mid-album highlight that feeds on mellow, old-school R&B funk. Over a sample similar to Temptations, Pharrell tries to pick up yet another girl, although in a classier way (‘Aw, you’re so perfect / Don’t you ignore me, girl’).

‘I’ve Seen the Light/Inside of Clouds’ is another likable track boasting Pharrell’s still-mediocre vocals over an awesome mash of sounds, ranging from western to old school to futuristic. The horn lines on ‘God Bless Us All’ are infectious and soulful. ‘Life As A Fish’ is a quiet, wondrous tune in which Pharrell suggests that living on dry land sucks and argues how life would be much better if we all lived as sea creatures.

‘Nothing On You,’ however, is the best track overall, with an up-tempo tune that sounds similar to something you’d hear in both N.E.R.D. and The Neptunes’ most popular songs. It’s that easy cool that takes Pharrell’s best vocal, a great drum line and great implications from a clearly adventurous girl: ‘You kiss me / I kiss her / She kiss you / You kiss me.’ Well, there’s an interesting proposition to say the least.

‘Nothing’ is a great album for N.E.R.D. fans. Tracks like ‘Nothing On You’ and ‘Hot-N-Fun’ are among some of the coolest tracks the group has ever created. But regardless of whether you are a fan of the group or not, this record simply isn’t that surprising.

 

temoore@syr.edu

 

Published on November 1, 2010 at 12:00 pm