Continuing with the trend of a lack of good rock coming out, I move on to the much anticipated N.E.R.D. release, entitled Nothing.  I feel like N.E.R.D. has always been underrated.  Given, pretty much everyone knows who they are, but I feel they get lumped into the “hip-hop” and “rap” genres a bit too much.  Given, when they do “hip-hop” they tear it up and can compete with the best of them, but as cliche as it sounds, they really are much more than that.  That is never more apparent than on this new album.  Out of the 10 tracks, only 3 of them could really be classified as “hip-hop.”  The other seven are severely jazz-influenced with splashes of soul and old-school rhythm and blues.

Pharrell has always been different and has always stood out from all other producers and artists.  His background of drum-line has always been evident in his songwriting, especially in earlier albums, and you can still hear it in this one.  However, what is much more apparent in this album is his progression in songwriting and depth.  It started with certain songs from the last album, Seeing Sounds, with songs like “Sooner or Later” and “Love Bomb,” which at the time was surprising because it deviated from their norm, but when you saw it live you completely understood.  It seems they enjoyed writing in that direction and it became a heavy factor for Nothing.

All that being said, this album is fantastic.  The direction of writing they have taken is amazing.  It flows incredibly well with some of the old vintage-throwback sounds slowly appearing lately (Cee-Lo Green) and its a much needed refreshment from the 80′s garbage that STILL lingers.  Even outside of their soulful songs, the few songs they have on the album in the hip hop genre are still great.  There are only a few small gripes I have about it all…

First, on the opening track, T.I. nearly ruins the entire song.  Yes, T.I., we know you are from Atlanta and you exaggerate your “r” sounds more than a drunken Irish guy at a soccer game, but calm down damnit.  Not only that, but the song is supposed to be upbeat and fun, not about “let my homie slide up in it when I’m finished.”  One, that’s just gross.  Two, I feel really bad for your homie.  Three, it completely takes away from the fun of the song.  You quickly take something good and make it dirty.  Given, the songs lyrics are about wanting a girl and having her bring her friends, but there is a fine line between subtlety and vulgarity that you just completely jumped over.

Second, my next gripe is ironically on the second track, “Hypnotize U.”  The song is primarily sung in falsetto, which isn’t too bad compared to the annoying whining of Coldplay, but Pharrell pulls it off alright considering he isn’t known for his vocal skills.  You start grooving to the song until the chorus hits and you feel extremely uncomfortable.  It goes from verse lyrics of “I can make your storm feel sky blue, and girl when you’re lost you know I’ll find you,” to an off-putting “touch it, girl, touch it, girl, touch it, girl, uhhhh” in a low, heavy-breathing voice whisper, reminiscent of the Ying-Yang twins.  It can get really disturbing and after hearing it all the way through one time, you’ll probably find yourself skipping over it on each listen-through.  I know the album sounds poor so far, but believe me, if you just get past these first two songs and their imperfections, the rest of the album is absolutely worth it.

Thirdly and lastly, three songs on the album have the exact same intro of a ride bell being hit.  I know it’s small, and it’s probably just me nit-picking and being a snob, but at times I felt like I was hearing the same song again.  Why begin three songs the exact same way? Did you guys just run out of ideas or become too lazy?

I give the album a 4 out of 5.  It really is a great album and if it wasn’t for T.I. or the uncomfortable whispers of the second track, it would certainly have the 5 star rating.  Even with the shortness of only a 10 track album.  Get past the first two songs and you’re golden.  This album is pretty brilliant and it brings back the soul and depth that most artists need right now in an ever-drowning industry.