3/7
Girl is only Pharrell’s second solo album, which I found surprising. Personally, I would consider myself a fan, but more so of his producing and features. Pharrell is undeniably legendary, iconic and influential. However, this album for me did not impress me, at least to the caliber that I expected. Since Pharrell is so remarkable in the music industry, I expected nothing short of a masterpiece when I heard that Girl was dropping.
I believe that Girl deserves such a poor rating partly because of the great expectations I had for it; especially after featuring in earlier top hits like “Blurred Lines” and “Get Lucky.” The album is just not my cup of tea on top of that. His hit single, “Happy” is honestly what makes this album. “Happy” was featured in the huge children’s film Despicable Me 2. That was just the start if this incredible hit; he song was not only a chart-topping favorite, but a movement, a Youtube famous music video. (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y6Sxv-sUYtM). The song was a hit on social media, being tweeted about daily and people loved to wake up to it and get their day started. The tune is the catchiest I have heard in a while and many people can’t change the station when this song is playing.
Other tracks I loved were “Brand New” featuring Justin Timberlake – anything Justin touches is gold, and “Lost Queen” – great melody, chorus, foot-tapping beat, overall a great track. Both are worth a good listen if at all interested in Pharrell’s work.
However, the entire album sounds the same. Its disco-like feel is fun at first, but then quickly becomes monotonous. It feels old, something we have heard before. When people listen to music nowadays, they want something different, they want something that will change the game, especially when it comes to hip-hop, rap and R&B. With the exception of “Happy,” the entire album is about the same pace and doesn’t deserve more than a few listens. In fact, while listening to the album, it feels like you were listening to just one long song instead of an entire record. There are no slower-paced tracks or more faster-paced tracks ones--it is all pretty consistent. While consistency is not a bad thing in an album, Girl is too much. A listener should not feel like their listening to one big track for an entire album. think Pharrell is capable of so much greater, and I feel that other fans were hoping for the same.
For those who liked the album – check out N.E.R.D albums and all Pharrell features, and even give Tyler, the Creator’s Wolf a listen.
