Since 2003’s “In Search Of…” it seems as though the trio we know as N*E*R*D has been on a mission to make tunes that appease themselves instead of a wide audience.
However their songs just happen to turn into unstoppable hits. Their latest work “Seeing Sounds” is no different. Not only was N*E*R*D’s first single “Everyone Nose” a hit; its follow-up “Spaz” and the others of the collection are just as good, or even better.
Synesthesia was the muse for the new album. “I’ll never forget/ I was like seven years old/ I closed my eyes and that’s when it started/ I started seeing sounds/ whoa.” I’m sure all of us don’t have the gift of Synesthesia, but Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo, and Shae Haley make sure their fans aren’t left out.
It’s quite easy to get a vivid illustration of the world through their Ray Ban shades while listening to any of the 12 tracks. The right side of your brain will definitely enjoy hearing “Spaz,” “Kill Joy” and “Anti Matter.”
The creativity is really undeniable. The drums scream afro-soul, and you never get tired of hearing Pharrell use his voice as a musical instrument. Also, the riffs will make you want to get up and dance “in your reckless pair”. The left side of your brain will love the lyrics to “Everyone Nose,” “Windows” and “Yeah You.” These songs are truly clever. The details in “Yeah You” are amazing. The group intertwines e-mails and text messages from two women into the lyrics.
In this song the group sings about an anonymous girl who shows up at a show and serves as one night of lust, but turns out to be a stalker that just won’t go away. For the most part the lyrics in “Seeing Sounds” are pretty straightforward.
There aren’t too many crazy metaphors leaving you puzzled and wondering, “Maybe I’m not deep enough to understand that.” As Pharrell croons in a fun falsetto, “Damn u cupid/You were shooting at me instead of landing on her/If this is how it should be/We should have stayed how we were/Cause now I’m/Happy,” you can really understand the true meaning of a love song. The 50.7-minute CD is a mix between the greatest sounds of the 80’s and 70’s.
Every song is totally different from the next. My favorite is “Kill Joy”. It’s fashioned off of the concept of the childhood story, “Little Red Riding Hood,” and it seriously reminds you of Sugarhill Gang’s “Rapper’s Delight” during the first 30 seconds. N*E*R*D’s junior album is like a jelly donut, covered with the pop genre and oozing with enough style to be heard at a fashion show.
