Pharrell Williams has been the force behind the biggest singles of the past 12 months – including ‘Get Lucky’ (with Daft Punk), ‘Blurred Lines’ (with Robin Thicke), and current smash ‘Happy’. Now he’s set to drop his first solo album in 6 years, G I R L Album features the NZ #1 double platinum single ‘Happy’.
Album features collaborations with Daft Punk, Justin Timberlake, Miley Cyrus, Alicia Keys and more.
Review:
At some point between In My Mind and this album, tracking
Pharrell's accomplishments became more difficult than ever. His 2013 alone
must be considered historic. That February, he accepted a Grammy for his role in
Frank Ocean's Channel Orange. March brought the release of Robin Thicke's
“Blurred Lines,” a Pharrell production that eventually topped the Hot
100. In April, there was Daft Punk's Pharrell-fronted “Get Lucky,” a
number two hit. From June through December, the Top Five of the Billboard
200 featured ten albums that involved him, including the number ones Random
Access Memories, Blurred Lines, Magna Carta…Holy Grail, and Beyoncé. He
subsequently earned seven additional Grammy nominations and took home three
awards – presumably stowed in one of the compartments of his hat – the
following January, including the one for Producer of the Year, Non-Classical.
Just prior to the March 2014 release of G I R L, “Happy,” one of several
songs he granted to the soundtrack of Despicable Me 2, topped the Hot 100. That
carefree soul throwback appears here, almost smack in the middle. It doesn't
sound out of place in a set of upbeat, candy-coated pop-R&B that is
relatively modern-sounding, laced with some elements of R&B from the mid- to
late ‘60s and that sweet late-’70s to early-‘80s spot. One highlight that
owes more to the past is “Gust of Wind,” a midtempo disco-funk Daft Punk
collaboration filled with soaring strings and one of Pharrell's most
effectively wistful/yearning turns. On the sunny “Brand New,” he adds horns
and shares vocals with Justin Timberlake, and they deal out some rare male
self-objectification: “Like the tags still on me, jumpin’ 'round in your
bag.” Much of the material is gentlemanly – appearances from Alicia Keys,
Miley Cyrus, JoJo, and other women add to the approach – but this wouldn't be
a Pharrell album without some goofball moves. “Hunter,” like a funkier and
tinnier take on what he did for Usher's “Twisted,” is steeped in his
charm-way-over-ability falsetto and cartoonish boasts with topical references.
“Gush,” what sounds like an outtake from the first N.E.R.D. album plus
strings, begins with “Make the pussy just gush” and references “Light Your
Ass on Fire” while proclaiming “My mama didn't raise me that way”
somewhere between. Compared to his albums with N.E.R.D. and In My Mind, this is
easily Pharrell's second most enjoyable album, just behind the original version
of In Search Of… from 2001. It's fun, frivolous, and low on excess.
All Music Guide – Andy Kellman