Review Summary: "Nothing, we learned nothing."
Pharrel once had a dream to create a band that could realise anything he wanted to. A band that was not held back by a record company that was demanding sales. That dream was realised when he, after writing numerous hits for others (remember Britney's
I'm A Slave 4U), decided to create his own band N.E.R.D. Their debut album
In Search Of... wasn't all that groundbreaking or original, but it was a very enjoyable effort nonetheless. Sadly, things went downhill after that, with the band wanting to play their own instruments(
Fly Or Die) or adapt to the electronica hype(
Seeing Sounds). However, these records still had a few good points, so I kept hoping for the musical masterpiece I thought these guys were bound to release some day. Boy was I wrong.
If you heard the lead single
Hot-N-Fun(I still don't quite get why they had Nelly Furtado feature in it) you already know what's going on.
Nothing is going on! While their previous releases featured some good songs,
Nothing is a complete chore to listen to. It seems that the band has put aside every principle that they started with, and simply made a record that was as bland as possible. Gone are the smart beats that were so omni-present on
Seeing Sounds, and gone is the soul that they put into their previous work, namely
In Search Of.... It all sounds like they didn't bother to put any effort into it.
Even when the rhythm section doesn't fall flat on it's face, on
Hypnotize U for example, Pharrel William's completely nonsensical lyrics manage to ruin the song anyway. This was to be expected however, since his lyrics were also the thing that kept
Seeing Sounds from being an above average record. I would have expected a little more lyrical input from the man that wrote so many commercial hit singles for other people. Maybe his talent dried up over the years, or maybe he's just too rich to care.
Touch a girl, touch a girl, touch a girl (ahhh)
Touch a girl, touch a girl, touch a girl (ahhh)
Touch a girl, touch a girl, touch a girl (ahhh)
Nothing is really appealing on this record, it just feels bland and lifeless. It sounds like the band just wanted to release something to keep the cash flow going. With
Nothing N.E.R.D. have become exactly what they set out not to be: a mindless, soulless hit machine. As Pharrel boasts on this record: “Nothing, we learned nothing”. Spot on.
