Note: The following review was originally written on June 5, 2008
It's been four long years since N*E*R*D last dropped an album. At one point, the band declared that they were done making music together for good, and a third LP seemed extremely unlikely. Chad was off in retirement-limbo, taking time to produce records for alternative pop artist and childhood friend Kenna. Pharrell remained in the lime light, producing hits for his ever-growing network of friends, while releasing his own lukewarmly received solo album In My Mind. And Shay......
Well, Shay was probably back in Virginia playing Playstation.
But somewhere along the line the music gods wanted more from this genre-bending group. And with that, N*E*R*D is back. So was it worth the wait?
In a word........fuck yes.
The album was clearly designed for the sole purpose of crushing your speakers ten times over. And it accomplishes this by leaps and bounds. Sonically, it’s the band's most forward-thinking record, and their richest. Sound elements fly out of nowhere, intertwining themselves within each other to create a vibe that worms its way into your skull and tells you to bounce to that shit.
The record opens with the sound of children playing, accompanied by a string arrangement that sounds like it was ripped from a 1950s educational video. Pharrell enters with a narration, talking about his childhood and the day he started "seeing sounds". Yatta yatta. Then the sounds fade out, and in comes a bass line that slaps you across the face and tells you "It's time to fuck." That bass line, combined with your typical horny lyrical jousting between Pharrell and Shay (complete with a classic N*E*R*D jazz breakdown) get the album off to a winning start.
"Everyone Nose" is next. And we know all there is to know about this one: jazz bass, hysterically good/bad hook, and jazzy breakdown. Moving right along.
"Windows" is the weakest track here, which is both a good thing and a bad thing. The song isn't terrible by any means, but it's mediocre, and threatens to bring the album to a screeching halt even before the album has begun. Thankfully, however, the song gives way to a pair of 800lb gorillas.
"Anti-Matter" and "Spazz" are big, and they are nasty. Prepare to order a new pair of headphones after you're done, because they're both guaranteed to melt whatever earbuds you've got popped into your iPod. You've heard a snippet of the latter in those Zune commercials, while the former is the most rap-influneced track on here. And it bangs hard.
Next up is "Yeah You", which might be the most instantly intoxicating track on here. A stalker tale with a jazzy vibe (complete with a jazz bass and saxophone), it's a mellowed out tune that's one of the most melodic on the disc.
Then we arrive at "Sooner or Later", which is a controversial track for me. Why is that, you ask? For a very simple reason: “Sooner or Later” is as epic of a song as N*E*R*D is likely capable of. So much so that one wonders why it’s not the last song on the album. Nothing else on the album matches its intensity and power. After a melodic, ballad-like beginning, the song closes with a pure, unadulterated explosion of sound. It builds and builds and builds for nearly 3 minutes, and just when you think it can’t get any bigger...it does, complete with some crazy ear-melting guitar work. How this song wasn't placed last is beyond me. But, thankfully, the rest of the album still holds up well after its exit.
"Happy" bounces with a 80s pop/rock vibe. And because Pharrell and his cohorts have an undeniable ear for the melodic, they're smart enough to let the song breathe instead of cutting it short, just as its starting to work its way into your cranium. "Happy" is followed by "Kill Joy", another percussion-focused jam that will once again beat your speakers up like a red-headed stepchild at K-Mart.
Sounding like it was ripped from the Fly or Die sessions, “Love Bomb” is bubbly and anthemic, with a hook so silly, it’s good. "You Know What" is a classic N*E*R*D funk/rock jam with a dash of Jamiroquai’s groove. And the album comes to a relentless close with "Laugh At It", with thick, thunderous drums giving your speakers one last bitch slap before it fades out.
And there you have it. Seeing Sounds isn't as initially hooky as In Search Of. It genuinely takes a few listens to really gather what Pharrell and company have put together here. But it's the album that truly defines what the N*E*R*D mission has always been: taking the boundaries of modern pop, rock, and hip hop and stretching them to their limits to build something entirely new. And for this lifetime nerd, the sounds are a beautiful sight to see.
GRADE: A-
Posts
