BeUnequaled Magazine
Back in the summer of 2008, N.E.R.D released their third album, Seeing Sounds. I wouldn't say I was the biggest fan of that album, but it had a few decent tracks that were worth listening too.
More than two years later and I know have the fourth N.E.R.D, Nothing, album playing on my iPod Touch.
What an album.
I know that I tend to avoid Seeing Sounds when browsing through albums on my iPod. In Search Of... is always considered, Fly or Die not as much but I can honestly say that I will be giving Nothing more than a few listens. In fact, I've had it for 24 hours and I’m approaching a third listening.
Shay is more prominent on the album and, most importantly for me, it feels like Chad Hugo has had some input.
After the travesty that was In My Mind, Pharrell's success seemed to have gone to his head. Seeing Sounds was an improvement and much closer to the kind of product we expect from the Neptunes, but it was still some way short of In Search Of... and Fly or Die.
Nothing almost brings things back full circle. We're at a stage where the album works well and I am actually having a lot of fun listening to the album.
I do fear that the success and high expectations set in the run up to Seeing Sounds made it less appealing, but if you set the bar so high, surely your aim should be to reach for that bar, at the very least.
Singles
Hot-n-Fun was the first track to be released, featuring Nelly Furtada, but it recieved some mixed reviews. For me, it's exactly what N.E.R.D are best at and is good in it’s own way.
My own favourites from the album include the first song, Party People, especially when the chorus kicks in with Pharrell shouting the phrase. Perfect Defect is another N.E.R.D special and Nothing On You follows a similar line to Tape You, an odd, but stand out track (even if only for it’s theme) from In Search Of...
I took an instant liking to this album just one track in and after a second full listen I can identify a handfull of tracks that will make it into regular rotation on my iPod.
